Her New Beginning
by ll Kairi ll
Summary: Naruto is banished from his village from the elders. So off he goes. But, after a few years, he rescues a little girl. Whats up with her? First Naruto fanfic! TITLE HAS BEEN CHANGED! Used to be Imoto-chan and Nii-sama.
1. You're Banished!

Okay, so this is my first fanfic for Naruto! I hope you like it!

Summary: Naruto is banished from his village because the Elders are tired of the 'Demon' living among them. Naruto knew this was going to happen, but just didn't know when. So out he goes, leaving his friends behind. His new home is the Sand village with the Sand siblings, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. They couldn't believe what they head so they practically adopted him. Well, Naruto travels a lot, and one day, while he's traveling, he saves a abused little girl. What will come over Naruto and this girl?

Chapter one: You're Banished!

"You wanted to see me, Grandma Tsunade?" A voice sounded. A blond haired- blue eyed man walked into the Hokages office, supporting his orange and black jumpsuit. His hands were buried in his pockets and even though it was late, he was still wearing his head-band.

Tsunade looked up from her stack of papers with a grim expression. "Yes, Naruto." The blond walked further into the office and stopped a few feet from her desk, all the while, Tsunade crossed her fingers together on her desk. "I was told to have you escorted to the meeting room when you arrived."

A bit confused, he asked, "Why?"

Tsunade sighed and uncrossed her hands before she stood up. "All I know is that the Elders want to have a meeting with you present."

Naruto narrowed his blue eyes. All his confusion presented earlier, disappeared. He didn't say anything.

"C'mon, Naruto, let's get to the meeting room and be over with it." By the look she was expressing, Naruto could tell she didn't want to go either and that something bad was going to happen.

XxxxX

The two walked quietly down one of the many hallways. Tsunade had took the lead while Naruto hung back a step or two. The walk didn't take that long and within in a couple of minutes, the two blonds stood in front of a door marked 'Elders'.

Tsunade glanced at Naruto before opening the door and walked in.

The room was a medium size room, almost like a living room. In the center of the room were two couches facing each other and had a coffee table in between them. The walls were painted a dark red and had long blue curtains draping down to cover the windows.

When Naruto made it into the room, he frowned. Why were his former teachers Iruka-Sensei and Kakashi, and Master Jiraiya, doing here?

Jiraiya was leaning against one of the walls, furthest away from the center of the room. He had his eyes closed and his arms crossed at his chest. Kakashi stood next to him with one foot propped up on the wall to support his weight while reading one of his 'Make-Out Tactics' books. Iruka stood right behind one of the couches, the empty one, and was looking off to the left, looking bored but nervous.

Now, sitting on the empty couch, was the two old people; one male and the other female. The two oldest people in the Hidden Leaf Village; Koharu Utatane (girl) and Homura Mitokado. (Boy)

As if doing it a million times, though she probably has, Tsunade walked straight to the empty couch and plopped herself down. She didn't care about sitting up striaght or aknowledging anyone in the room.

Naruto, on the other hand, closed the door behind him and walked slowly over to where Iruka stood.

"Alright, can we get this meeting started already?" Tsunade asked, annoyed.

Jiraiya opened his eyes and Kakashi looked up from his book with his one visible eye. The two elders, who were watching Naruto with a disgusted look, looked at Tsunade.

"You should not address your elders that way, even if you're the hokage, Tsunade." Homura stated in a calm voice. Tsunade just rolled her eyes.

"Well, as you know, we are having a meeting to discuss a problem that has been growing for quite some time now." Koharu sat up a bit straighter as she started the meeting.

"And what kind of problem is there?" Jiraiya asked lazily.

Homura, as quick as lightening, flickered his eyes to Naruto then right back to Jiraiya. "Oh, I think you know."

Being thankful that he had Kyuubi's sighting, Naruto noticed the look. He blinked his eyes a few times in disbelief. "Wait, are you- are you saying _I'm _the problem?"

The elders look to him, but before either one of them could reply, Tsunade did. "Whatever you're thinking, don't. Naruto is a part of this village." Her voice was dangerously low.

"I'm sorry; Tsunade, but we've had this demon far too long in our village. It's time for it to either leave, or die." Koharu said, unaffected by the hokage's tone.

"He has been a part of this village since the day he was born! We are _not _throwing Naruto out!"

Like Tsunade, Jiraiya's voice was low and dangerous. "Whatever demon you're talking about, _never_ refer it to Naruto. He isn't the demon; the thing inside him is."

Homura looked at them with piercing blue eyes. "Now don't you start speaking that way either, Jiraiya. And as far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't be saying anything at all." He said, referring to how the Toad Sage always left his village.

But before Jiraiya could respond, Iruka did. "If you won't let master Jiraiya speak, then allow me. What he says is true; the demon is not Naruto, it is Kyuubi."

"Now Iruka," Homura tried to sooth him by his words. "Remember your parents. That beast," He pointed in Naruto's direction. The blond glared at him, but kept quiet. "Killed them. Do you still want him here?"

No more than half a second later, Iruka gave them his reply. "Yes." Both elders blink in surprise, though they quickly dismissed their reaction. "Yes. I know that Naruto has everything under control. Just because he has a demon in him, doesn't make him one. In fact, it makes him opposite of a demon; a man whose loving, good, and fun to be around. Naruto has always been trying his best to show others that he is nothing like a demon. He helps change people for the better. If it wasn't for Naruto, this village wouldn't be the same." He looked next to him and smiled at the blond.

"You can say all the good things about him, but we have already decided to cast him out." Koharu replied. She watched as Tsunade directed a glare at her.

"You can _not_ just make something up! As hokage, you have to confront me first, and I'll say what can go!"

Now when Tsunade got mad, she got mad. Everyone who knew her by confronting her or meeting her or just heard of her, knew that she had a bad temper. And I don't mean as yelling. She liked to get physical and punch and throw things. Naruto watched as all of his friends (Or teachers) stood up for him, risking being respectful to the elders. Though they probably didn't care if their nice or mean to them, they deserved it. He bit his bottom lip.

_**'What's wrong kit?' **_A silky voice asked in his head.

/They're . . . they're all risking everything for me./

_**'And? Isn't that a good thing?'**_

Naruto hesitated. _/_Well, yeah, but . . ./

_**'But what?' **_Kyuubi asked. When Naruto didn't answer back, she sighed. _**'What are you going to do?'**_

Before Naruto could think back to the nine-tailed fox, Tsunade's voice broke his train of thought.

"Naruto has made this his home. Casting him out is like casting the Fourth Hokage out." A flicker of surprise crossed both of the elders face. "The fourth did everything in his power to keep our village safe and out of danger. He sealed the fox in his own child because he knew that Naruto would be able to keep it tamed. He died saving this village. Is that not enough?

"Before he died, his last words were to make sure everybody saw the good in Naruto and not the bad. He didn't want people to look and know him as the nine tailed fox that killed most of our ninja. What you're doing now, you are not respecting his wish." Tsunade finished and waited for the Elders reply.

Finally, after several silent moments, Homura sighed. "I am sorry, but we've made up our minds. The Fourth did what had to be done, but that still won't change people's mind about the fox staying in the village."

Tsunade stood up. "You are sick. Do you not - -"

"Enough!" Naruto yelled. Everyone in the room looked to the blond, surprise clearly shown on their faces. "I've heard enough." Kakashi lowered his book and looked interested, though outraged that the Elders were throwing his own student out.

"Naruto," Tsunade spoke softly like she was telling him bad news, but Naruto cut her off.

"No, Baa-chan. Thank you for everything you've done, but, if there are people here that do not think it's safe, then it's best if I leave." Naruto had his eyes trained on Tsunade. He gave her a smile, even though the smile never quite reached his eyes. Beside him, his hands were curled into fists.

"Screw what the other people think, Naruto. You are trained with the proper –" Jiraiya started, but again, Naruto cut him off with a shake of his head.

"Pervy-Sage, you don't have too. All my life, I always tried to get people to like me for me. I actually thought I made it . . . but, there are still people who don't." Naruto's voice drops to an icy tone as he addressed the elders next. "You made a mistake, but, as you want, I'll leave."

For the first time since the meeting had started, Kakashi closed his book. "Naruto, there's no need to do this. We will find a way out of this mess."

Naruto shook his head without looking at his old sensi. "Nah, that's okay, Kakashi, but can you tell Sakura and Sasuke nothing about this? I don't want them knowing I was banished."

"Yes, what about Sasuke, Naruto? You just got him back. If you leave, hell will break loose." Tsunade tried. "What happens if you run into Orochimaru or the Akatsuki?"

The blond just shrugged. "I'll either fight or flee."

"But that's suicide!" Iruka argued.

"Well, that won't be your concern anymore." Naruto said sadly. He looked at all of his senior-er friends before finally resting a glare on the elders.

Koharu looked calm by all what had happened. She spoke with no resentment or happiness. "Glad that you see this our way. But now, I want you to know, Naruto Uzumaki, that when you leave the village, you are to never come back. If you do so, or step over our borders, then you will be executed. When you leave, you will be a rouge ninja."

Naruto just nodded his head before lowering it and turning on his heel to leave.

"Naruto, don't." Tsunade whispered. Her voice almost broke his heart, but he doesn't let It show.

The nine-tailed fox child doesn't turn around as a shadow covered his eyes. "Sorry, Baa-chan. But, don't make things harder than it seems." He starts walking towards the door.

As he gripped the handle and pulled the door opened, Jiraiya spoke up. "Hey kid, be careful out there. Remember everything I taught you and . . . I'll be seeing you."

Naruto turned around a bit. Tsunade had tears in her eye, as did Iruka. Both Jiraiya and Kakashi stayed strong, but their eyes were expressing sorrow.

"I . . . I will, Pervy-Sage."

Naruto Uzumaki, age twenty, turned around and walked away from his comrades and walked away from his life.

Till next time!

Okay, so how'd you like it? I'll only post more, cause I already have more written, if people actually like it. I know, this chapter sucks, but hey, it's my first Naruto fic, so be patient!

Please review! I gladly appreciate them! XD


	2. Sand Siblings

Well, I got a lot of people reading the first chapter, and since I already had the second chapter written, I am going to type it. ^^ I didn't think I'd get over 200 readers in one day! That made me very happy ^^ And for some of those who are wonderin' what the title means, don't worry, I'll explain it hopefully soon. In chapter . . . five or six, which ever I'm writing to at the moment, starts to explain a tiny part of it. ^^

Well, thanks for reading! Y'all made me happy! ^^ Woot!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of it's awesome characters.

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

Chapter two: Sand Siblings

Four days later, a blond ninja stood next to the three sand siblings; Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara.

Right after Naruto's banishment, the blond had gone straight to his apartment, packed a few belongings such as food, clothing, a blanket, other important items, and four photos. After packing, he quickly departed his home village and settled out on going to the Sand village. He ran all day , through the night, and the next day without stopping. He knew that if he had stopped, he would have broken down crying, so he pushed himself until he got to the village.

When he had got to the village, he had a stone hard face and luckily for him, Garra was by the entrance of his village when he had spotted the familiar blond.

"They banished you? How stupid could they get?" Kankuro yelled as he paced the room.

The three sand ninjas, plus Naruto, were all in the council meeting room. They were all alone, seeing how this was no one else business but theirs. Gaara was sitting in his chair, the one for the Kazekage, with Temari standing off to his left side. Naruto was in the chair next to the two, while Kankuro was still pacing.

Naruto shrugged. "I . . . kind of already saw it coming." His voice wasn't its normal cockiness and full of life, but one full of pain. "I just didn't expect it to happen so soon." He tried not to feel sadness about the dramatic change in his life, but it was rather hard. He would never get to see his friends and village again.

"But, if you expected this, why didn't you do anything about it?" Temari asked, slightly confused.

Again, the blond just shrugged. "What was there I could have done? Tell Tsunade? As if she didn't have enough on her plate as it is. Try to figure it out on my own? Yeah, you've seen where it brought me." He sulked.

Gaara spoke his normal, soft but stern tone. "You could of contacted us. _We_ could have done something."

The feeling of tears threatened to form in Naruto's blue eyes. "No, I couldn't have. You three already have - -"

"You don't get it!" Kankuro stopped his pacing and slammed his hands on the table. Naruto looked at his enraged face. "We respect you, Naruto, after everything you've done. You helped Gaara after the Chunin exam; you know how Gaara feels more than any one else. Was it not for you, we wouldn't be who we are today."

"Naruto, you mean so much to us; we will always be there for you." Temari added much more gently than her brother. She sent him a look that meant to control yourself.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Kankuro, Temari. At least . . ." He doesn't finish his sentence, but the sand siblings could already guess what he was going to say. The insides of him were calming down a bit, glad that he still had people to look after him and a new place to call home.

Kankuro nodded and his face relaxed from his angered expression. He pushed off the table and stood next to his sister.

It stayed quiet for awhile. No one knew what to say so they acknowledged each others presence by staying quiet. Naruto looked around the room, seeming to relax. Today's events had tired him out; running for hours without stopping to take a break as he ran from his ex-village to the Sand. He let out a breath of air as his memories switched back to the meeting.

Finally, Gaara broke the calm silence and broke Naruto's train of memories, as he spoke, "So now that you have a place to call home, what will you be doing?"

_**'Yes, what will you be doing, Kit?'**_ Kyuubi purred. So she had been listening to everything that was going on.

Answering both questions, Naruto shrugged. "I was thinking about traveling; meeting new people and reuniting with old. Go training, help people out."

"But you are coming back." It wasn't a question but a statement. Gaara watched as Naruto finally smiled one of his signature grins.

"Of course; I can't stay too far from my home."

Till next time!

Okay, this will be the shortest chapter I ever write. I am very sorry that it is short, but promise that the next chapter will be longer! I swear! Please don't be mad!


	3. Tag A Long

Okay, my apologies about last chapter. I didn't mean for it to be so short. But, this chapter is going to be a lot longer, hopefully ^^ So, here we go!

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

**DISCLAIMER: ****I DO NOT OWN Naruto nor any of its characters, just my own!**

Chapter Three:

A man of twenty two jumped from one tree branch to another. He wore long orange pants with his same style black boots. He had on a black muscle shirt that couldn't be seen under his long sleeve, orange and black jacket. The man never changed his appearance from when he still lived in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, except for having no headband and wore a long orange overcoat that went past his knees. On the bottom of the over coat was red and black flames that had the effect that the flames were licking its way up, same on the sleeves that went a little past his elbows.

The man's hair had grown a bit so that it now hung in his eyes, but it was the same blond, spiked up hair, but now, it looked as if someone had dipped the ends in blood; all the tips were a royal color of red.

_**'So kit, what do you wanna do now?' **_A voice popped into his head.

/Well, since I've been gone for more than three months, I thought it might be nice to visit home./ Naruto thought back to Kyuubi. /I'm pretty sure Gaara wants to know that I'm still alive./

In his mind, he watched the giant fox stand up and stretched before sitting back down. She yawned before replying back, '_**Not only that, but you want to show him your new justu?'**_

Naruto frowned and aloud, he responded back, "You know I can't do that. If I were to summon you Kyuubi, then Shukaku would try to loosen his imprisonment within Gaara. They two aren't as friendly as us."

Kyuubi sighed. _**'Well, it was worth a try.'**_

He chuckled and pushed off of a tree branch, launching himself through the air. "Yeah, yeah. I've been training for those three months to summon you without any trouble and you want to be let out _to _cause trouble. What am I going to do with you?"

_**'Well, I wouldn't say 'cause trouble' Kit, more like have a snack or two.'**_

The blond frowned. "Uh . . . . I don't think so. I made great terms with the sand Shinobi and I don't really intend to break theat."

Kyuubi just sent a toothy grin to her host before letting out another yawn and lying her head down on her paws.

Naruto stopped and landed on a tree branch to catch his breath. He stood and examine his surrounding as his thoughts swarms his head.

A lot has happened since he was banished from his home. He lived with the sand siblings in the land of the san, but he was always traveling; he never stayed in one place for to long.

When the blond traveled, he always visited some of his old friends that he helped years ago on missions when he was still apart of squad seven. He would stay with them for a while before leaving to travel again. When he doesn't have anyone to visit, he usually went back to the Sand or went to a wide open plain where you couldn't find a town for at least a hundred miles radius, to train. Naruto usually just trained with another clone of his or, if he truly wanted to fight, summon Kyuubi in a smaller form.

To summon Kyuubi took a lot of chakra. There was many hand signs to remember and a chant that had to be said once. If he messed up anywhere when performing the hand signs, he got knocked out for a few days. Sometimes, it even lasted up to a week. It all just depended on which fox he was trying to summon. It took him over a year to perfection the summon and to keep it maintained. There are a lot of different summoning he could do; summon a average size fox, resembling the actual Nine-Tailed Fox who had powerful attacks, a different type of fox that was the size of a baby elephant or a small car that had the chakra look to it, (A/N when Naruto goes into the fourth tailed fox, he has that chakra look to him), and the last one, his and Kyuubi's most favorite, summoning the actual fox. True, Naruto still had the seal on his tummy, concealing the fox within him, but the blond haired genius found a way around it without breaking it. When he brings the fox out, whichever one it is, a part of it stays inside the teen, even if the fox looks complete. So, lets say he brought the entire fox out. You can see the fox looking real and everything, which she is, but a fraction of her is still in Naruto, if that makes sense.

Annnyways, as easy as summoning the fox out, it was ten times easier to send her right back into him. To beckon Kyuubi forth, took many hand signs, but to send her back, was as easy with only one hand sign. What I'm trying to say, it's very easy to put her back in jail if she was mis-behaving. ((Yeah, if that doesn't make sense, tell me!))

Now summoning Kyuubi wasn't Naruto's only new jutsu, oh no, he had many others. Well, not that many, but some. Take his Rasengan for an example. Yes it was powerful, but under his own training methods, made it even stronger and powerful. There are many others, kind of, but they'll come up sooner or later.

Now, you're probably wondering what happened to Naruto's old village; Konoha. They're still there, still staying strong and missing a certain blond.

When Naruto left, everyone noticed immediately, I mean, who wouldn't? Someone as loud as him? They, meaning Naruto's friends, asked Tsunade about it, but she would never tell them the truth, all she would tell them was that Naruto Uzumaki left and wasn't coming back. Somehow, after several days of complaining, Sakura managed to pry some of the important details out of her sensi. Tsunade only told the pinkette the major things like the elders banished him and that he wasn't allowed to come back. She never did tell her apprentice that if the blond were to come back, he'd die, or the exact reason the elders banished him. But, most people guessed the reason why the elders banished him. Now, when Sakura heard the news, her heart broke like it did when Sasuke had left to go with Orochimaru. And when she told her only team mate left, Sasuke, boy, did hell almost break loose. He demanded the elders that Naruto was to come back, but they refused. The raven was so furious, that he gathered a group of his and Naruto's close friends to go search for him and bring him back, but both Kakashi and Jiraiya stopped them. There was nothing that could be done.

Flashback:

_About a year back, before Naruto changed his appearance, he was at a little town in the land of Mist and Fog, having a drink when he ran into an old friend. Jiraiya._

_They were both surprised, but happy. The two sat down and talked for a good three hours. They talked about Naruto's like; what was going on with him, talked about Jiraiya's book, and about Naruto's friends._

_"They really miss you, you know." Jiraiya had said._

_"I know . . . but there isn't much I or any of them could have done." The blond looked down at the clay cup of tea his hands were wrapped around._

_Jiraiya snorted, causing the blond to look up. "Naruto, there was a lot you could have done, but you didn't. You could have shown those lazy elders that you belonged in the village. You could - -."_

_"I could have what?" Naruto yelled. "I could have done so much but none of it would have mattered, Jiraiya." His hands tightened around the cup until it broke, tea spilling everywhere. A light red chakra started to spew from the man, but Jiraiya and him ignored it. "No matter what I did, or would have done, the elders would still have banished me!"_

_The book writer crossed his arms against his chest. "No, they wouldn't have. The day of the meeting, what Kakashi had said, he meant it. We would have helped you find a way to overcome the elders. They didn't have a right to take you from your home."_

_"I did what was right." The blond looked away, glaring at some people who looked over to the two with curious expressions. Once seeing the glare and red chakra still radiating off of the boy, they quickly looked away. _

_"You may have done what you thought right, Naruto, but what about everyone else that cared about you?" Jiraiya's voice softened a bit. "You don't know what it's been like for them, especially for Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura just got her missing teammate back, just to lose another. Do you know what it's been like for them? How can a Anbu captain focus on his work and protecting his village when he's worried about his friend?"_

_Naruto let an angry sigh out. "It wasn't my choice to leave! I could have left the village quietly, or been forced out. No matter what, Pervy Sage, I had to leave. Why won't you understand that?" Said man looked like he was about to argue, but Naruto quickly continued. "What's been done has been done. It's time to not live in the past anymore. I didn't want to change how I was just to please a few people. The people there didn't feel safe with a 'demon child' living in the village." The red glow slowly started to dissolve away from him._

_"Like I said before, Naruto, it doesn't matter what they think!"_

_The blond slammed his fists onto the table and stood up, the red glow quickly coming back. His face was a mixture of rage and sorrow. "You don't know what its like to grow up and always having people hate you. To have a whole village hate you! I was lucky to gain friends and fell like I finally belonged somewhere. But, even then, the villagers still hated me. I'm sick and tired of it!"_

_"So you're happy that you left." It wasn't a question but a statement. _

_Naruto closed his eyes. "Halfly. I wanted to leave to get away from them, but," he said, referring to the people of the village that hated him. "then I'd miss everyone. I miss my friends, my home . . ." He sighed. "But I can't go back."_

_Jiraiya just nodded. "It's your own option, squirt. Just . . . promise me one thing."_

_Naruto opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What?"_

_The toad sage opened his eyes too. "If you ever have a problem, find me or Tsunade or me. I don't care what the others say, just come to us."_

End of Flashback:

_**'Kit . . . hey kit!'**_

The sound of Kyuubi's growling broke Naruto out of his memory world. He blinked a few times to find himself still standing on a tree branch.

"What's wrong, Kyuubi?" Naruto asked aloud.

The fox had been pacing and growling in his mind. _'__**About time! Anyways, about a mile from here, there are a group of bandits. It seemed that they just slaughtered a village.'**_

The blond grimaced. Even though this was how Naruto earned money, helping villages kill bandits that rob them, he never liked it. Sure, helping the villages was nice, but, he hated it when the group of bad men slaughtered innocents just to get new stuff.

"All right, which direction?"

_**'Northwest, two point six miles from here.'**_

As soon as the fox gave the direction, Naruto vanished from the tree branch and ran as fast as he could towards the bandits.

As he was running, Kyuubi asked, _**'Why must we do this? It's so annoying.'**_

The blond sighed before answering, "We do this because it's not fair for the villagers. And, I also do this for the good of the people. If the bandits are dead, the other villages will be safe."

The fox just rolled her eyes.

Within minutes, Naruto came to a stop behind a large, rounded tree. On the other side of the tree was a camp. Tents were up, but only a few of them were in use. A few horses were relaxing off to the side while someone was attending to them. On the other side of the clearing, were huge bags full of goodies, probably from the villages.

Now, in the middle of the camping grounds, was a group of people. Well, men to be exact seeing as there was no presence or sightings of a female anywhere. There must have been at least twenty guys, all lounging around a fire. They all had plates of food or a cup of what Naruto guessed as wine. Some of the men looked a bit buzzed.

One of the men, dressed in a filthy, what looked to be a white shirt, black pants, opened-toed sandals and a lot of jewelry; rings, necklaces, etc. , was lying back in a chair that looked of royalty, eating something. He looked up from his now empty plate and barked out, "Hey! Where's my next meal?"

A girl, no more than eleven years old, walked into view. She was wearing a filthy, torn dress that came way above her knees. From where Naruto stood, he could make out all of the scars, open, bleeding gashes, and bruises she received. Some of them looked old, perhaps a week or two old, while others looked fresh. The girl had long, brown hair that went to her waist. She was slender, maybe a little too slender, and pretty tall. But what made Naruto really notice her, was the chains around her wrists and neck. They were like hand cuffs, but with an added part. The cuff around her neck was connected to the chains around her wrists.

"She's - - she's their slave!" Naruto whispered in disbelief and disgust. It wasn't rare to see bandits take slaves, but that didn't mean Naruto still had to like it.

_**'What're you going to do?'**_Kyuubi asked. Naruto couldn't tell what her voice represented; anger? Surprised? Sick to the stomach?

The blond glared as he watched the girl deliver the plate to the man who yelled. The man greedily took the plate then shoved the girl out of the way. She didn't do anything, but stood a bit off to the side with her head bowed low so that she was looking down at the ground.

Naruto clenched his hands into fists. "I'm going to teach them a lesson." As soon as the words left his mouth, he disappeared in a gust of wind.

XxxxX

"Hey, get me some more beer!" The same man from before yelled. He scratched his budging tummy with one hand as he held his other out with a empty mug.

The girl came running over to take the mug but was stopped. Standing before her was a man she's never seen before. He has bright blond hair with the tips dyed blood red, an orange and black jumpsuit and a black overcoat that had red and black flames at the bottom.

"Hey, didn't you hear me?" The man yelled viciously. Being unaware that a newcomer had arrived, he shook his mug impatiently in the air.

"You know, it's rather rude to yell at a lady." Naruto said. He grabbed the mans wrist and twisted it hard, making him let the mug go.

Startled and in pain, the man turned around, finally aware of the newcomer. "Who the fuck are you?" He lashed out.

From his startled cry, the man's men all looked up from whatever they were doing. They all glared at the blond as they got to their feet and grabbing for their weapons that lay next to them.

"My name doesn't concern you," Naruto replied, his voice cold but rather calm. "but what _does _concern me is that you slaughtered a village and took one as your slave." He said, pointing to the frightened girl behind him.

The man looked from the blond to the girl then back to him. He sneered then said, "I didn't take her, moron; she is my daughter."

The hand around the man's wrist, tightened and a dark red glow started to illuminate off the blond. Some of the men backed away but not very far. The man in front of Naruto, had fear flash through his eyes but it quickly passed, taking its place was a cold glare.

"What the, let me go!" The man yelled trying to pull away. But Naruto continued to glare at him and hold his wrist tightly. The red chakra started to come out in waves now. The man took one last look at the blond before looking back at his men, yelling, "Well, what are you waiting for, an invite? Attack him already!"

The men immediately let out a battle cry and ran at Naruto, raising their weapons.

Being use to battles, Naruto let the man go and spun around, taking the girl into his arms. The girl didn't move or say anything as Naruto pushed off the ground and high into the trees above them. He landed on a branch and gently set the girl on her feet.

"Stay here." He whispered. The little girl nodded. She clutched her hands against her chest as if in a worried way, ((Which he was)) and took a step back.

Naruto nodded before jumping off the branch and landing exactly where he had been seconds ago.

The attackers were in a circle waiting for the blond to come down. And right when he did, they all, at the same time, launched their attacks.

Swords and axes were swung at the blond as he dodge them and brought a kunai knife out.

The men around him started laughing. "A tiny knife? What's that going to do, make a tiny cut?"

The blond smirked at the man's stupidity and brought out another kunai from his pouch on his left hip. But this one was different; it had a tag connected to its end. He jumped high into the air and threw the exploding tag down at the men, The tag exploded, killing a few stunned men while injuring many. Some were lucky, and smart enough, to jump out of the way.

"Jack ass! You're going to die!" One of the men yelled, causing Naruto to roll his eyes as he landed softly on the ground.

Once getting back up, the men ran at the blond, ignoring their wounds. They raised the swords and axes and other weapons up. But, knowing better, Naruto crossed his two hands forming a cross and yelled, "Shadow Clone Justu!"

Many of the same man started to form all around the clearing. All of the clones smirked at the confused men before the clones started to attack, each one first, pulling a kunai out of their pouches.

"The hell is this?" One man yelled before getting slaughtered.

Blood started to stain the perfectly green grass as the clones and men fought. When one clone was defeated by an enemy, another one took its place, followed up by another so that it was one on two.

Within minutes, more than half the men laid dead while the other half was badly wounded but still standing.

"Hey brat, don't forget about me!" The man from before, most likely the leader of the bandits, yelled. He raised his sword into the air and slashed at one of the Naruto's, hoping it would be the real one. But it wasn't; it was a clone. The clone popped away. "Damn it! Which one is the real one?" He started to slash at the other clones he came in contact with, but they too, ended up being clones.

"Why, keep doing that, and _eventually _you'll know where the real me is." A voice said from above.

The man looked up just in time to be punched in the jaw. He stumbled backwards as another fist made contact with his stomach then his other side of the jaw. As he stumbled, Naruto grabbed the some kunai from his pouch and threw it at the man.

The knives thrown at the man embedded themselves into his arms, legs and his throat, pinning him to the tree that was behind him. The sword dropped from his grasp and fell to the forest floor with a 'clang'. Blood started to seep from his wounds, especially the wound in his neck. He tried to move, but was getting weak from the amount of blood he was losing.

"Why?" He garbled in a low voice. Blood started to spew from his mouth in a long river like manner. It flowed down his chin and dripped off, landing on the grass.

Naruto walked up to the dying man and squatted down in front of him. "Because, you bag of shit. You slaughtered a whole village, probably countless numbers of them, took their belongings and, you abused your own daughter. That's not how a father should act."

"What I do to my own daughter, is of none of your concern." He tried to lash out but came out more of a moan.

The blond smirked, and the red chakra that continued to come off of him started to vanish. "Well, it is now." He stood back up and looked down at the helpless, dying man on the ground.

"You are a bastard. I hope you rot in hell!"

"You and many others."

Naruto left the man to die as he pushed off the ground with his legs.

_**'Hm . . . that was so boring.' **_Kyuubi yawned. In the background, the clones that were left poofed out of existence. _'__**There was hardly any action.' **_

Naruto doesn't say anything as he landed on the same tree branch he was on only minutes ago. Curled into a tight ball and leaning against the tree trunk was the girl. She watched him with round, green eyes that were filled with fear.

The blond walked over to her in a calm manner and squatted down next to her. In a gently voice that you'd be shocked to hear, because he just finished killing people and to be able to get it to that gently, he said, "I highly doubt you want to go down there; it's not a pretty sight." The girl's eyes peered down over the side of the branch but when Naruto cleared his throat, she immediately flickered her eyes back to him. "If you want, I can take you to a different village. There's one a few miles from here, one were your . . . father didn't attack."

The girl shook her head. With a bony finger, she pointed it at Naruto.

The blond furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. In his head, he asked the fox, _'What does she mean?'_

The fox, who's been paying attention, also furrowed her eye brows. _**'I don't know, but I think she might want to stay with you.'**_

Naruto nodded before saying, "I'm assuming you want to stay with me?" The girl nodded her head before taking her finger back. "Why?"

After a moment of silence, the girl spoke, though her voice was dry and cracked like she hadn't drunk water in a day or two, "You killed my master. Now you're my new master."

Both Kyuubi and Naruto both stared at her in surprised. Boy were they not expecting that.

"M-master?" Naruto stuttered. "No, I-no, I'm not going to be anyone's master!"

The girls eyes doubled in size as she quickly looked away. "I-I didn't mean to make you mad . . . p-please, don't punish me, master!"

Her voice was full of fear and sorrow. Naruto couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She's most likely been having a horrible life; life as a slave and having to live with a abusive father. He reached out to take her hand when she flinched away. The blond sighed before gently talking a hold of hers, this time succeeding.

"C'mon, let's get out of here first before we talk."

The girl looked up at him and didn't say anything.

Naruto stood up and helped the girl to her feet. Unsure what else to do, he scooped her up into his arms, bridal style, and pushed off hard against the tree, quickly disappearing from sight.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut as she buried her head in Naruto's chest. He looked down at her and his heart broke more.

**'**_**She's scared,' **_Kyuubi observed.

'_I would be to if my life was like that . . . but, how could someone treat a little girl like this?'_ Naruto thought as he landed on a tree and pushed off of it.

_**'I don't know, Kit, but what are you going to do with her?'**_

The blond thought for a moment, thinking back, '_I'll drop her off at a village, but with a good family to take care of her. I can't take her with me, it's much too dangerous.'_

The fox nodded her gigantic head.

"So," Naruto said aloud. "My name's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. What's yours?"

The little girl opened one eye opened and looked at him. "Sana." Her voice lost some of its dryness and the cracking, and in its place was a soft voice.

Naruto smiled. "Well, nice to meet you, Sana. And if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

Sana paused before saying, "E-eleven."

**'**_**Exactly what I told you, Kit.'**_Kyuubi purred, happy that she thought the age right.

'_Yeah, yeah,' _He thought before asking aloud, "I don't mean to bring this up, but, did you like your father?" Sana, as he expected, winced and buried her head against his chest again.

"I-I hated him," She whispered so softly, that if he didn't have Kyuubi's hearing, he would have missed it.

He nodded. "Well . . . so you didn't mind me killing him?" She shook her head,

After that, Naruto remained silent as he left Sana to her own thoughts. He continued to jump from tree **to tree, trying to be gently with each landing.**

_**'She fell asleep.'**_Kyuubi stated after half an hour.

Naruto blinked and looked down to indeed, find the girl asleep. '_Huh, you're right. But, we're almost to the town; should I wake her?'_

**'_Nah, it'll be easier to rid of her when she's asleep.'_**

The blond nodded before angling his body for a landing. His feet touched the ground right outside of the town's entrance. Having the sleeping girl in his arms, he walked casually into the village as if it was his own.

XxxxxX

So, I am so sorry that it's been ages since I've last updated. I just been so busy with my other three stories, I haven't given much time to this one. But, I hope for that to change! I just wanted to say thank you so much for reading my story! I had a lot of readers! Y'all made me very happy, that I want to keep writing!

And, last thing, I suck at fighting scenes, if you haven't already noticed. I'll try to get better at it!

R&R

-Kairi


	4. Teleportation

Sorry that it's been a long ass time….. but I've been to depressed to write to this story… *sniffles* Well, enjoy

**DISCLAIMER: ****I DO NOT OWN Naruto nor any of its characters, just my own!**

Chapter four:

Naruto laid the little eleven year old Sana on a bed. He had taken the chains off of her wrists and neck before he found a family willing to take her in. Now he started at her as she curled up into a ball on the bed, breathing softly. He couldn't help but smile.

The wife, whose name escaped the blond, spoke after he left the room. "We'll look after her as if she was our own."

Naruto nodded. "Thank you for taking her in. You have such kind hearts."

'_Oh please,' _Kyuubi rolled her eyes.

The wife nodded and led Naruto out of the house. But before he left, she asked, "What will I tell the child when she wakes up?"

"Uh . . . that she is free and will never be owned again." The lady looked at him weirdly but shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I must go now. Take care of her."

With that, Naruto took off running through the town to the entrance. The lady was waving to him as she watched him go.

XxxxX

The twenty-two year old sat on a tree branch with one leg dangling over the side while the other was propped up. He rested his arm on his leg and scanned his surroundings with a sigh.

'_You seem to be in an awfully gloomy mood today, kit. What's wrong?'_Kyuubi purred, worried for him.

Naruto shrugged and answered aloud. "I don't know . . ."

Kyuubi stood up and sat down instead of her usual lying down. '_Hmph, well, maybe you'll feel better once you get home. It must be because you're homesick.' _

Naruto shrugged again. That could be a possibility. He has been gone longer than normal, but, something in his mind told him that wasn't it. It was something more. "Well, break over. Might as well go home since there's nothing else to do." He stood up and dusted off his jacket.

Before he could so much as move an inch, Kyuubi's head perked up and had a hard glare set on her face. '_We have a followed.' _She growled.

"Where?" Naruto crouched low to the tree and brought a kunai out. He hated it when people started to trail him. But, if they ever find him, they were usually punched to a pulp.

'_I . . . can't tell. Everywhere?_' Her voice was full of confusion.

"Everywhere? That can't be possible unless it was a group of people." Naruto stated, now sensing the followed. But, as he sensed it, he realized it was only one person. He pushed his back up against the trunk of the tree and braced himself. He carefully started to watch his surroundings.

The wind blew gently like it had been all day; the only change had been the sun slowly setting.

Naruto stayed in his crouching position for a few minutes, his legs cramping a bit. But, he never moved except for his heart beating in its normal beat. The kunai was in a death position, only needing to swipe at the person's neck for them to be killed.

'_Intruder almost here and they're approaching pretty fast.' _Kyuubi announced.

Naruto slowly peaked around the tree to find . . . more trees. No one was approaching unless they were invisible or so small that it would take a magnified glass to see them. "There's no intruder, Kyuubi," he frowned and turned back around. He almost jumped a foot in to the air and let a small shriek out.

Crouching before him was a little girl with long brown hair and bright, green eyes. Sana. She watched him with curious but hurt eyes.

"S-Sana! How, where, how did you get here?" Naruto stuttered out. He waited for her to respond but she didn't. She just simply tilted her head to the side as if confused.

"Um . . . okay. Why aren't you with that family? They must be worried sick that you left them!" But still, she did not answer. He furrowed his blond eyebrows.

_'Maybe she wanted to be with you? You did save her, kit.'_ Kyuubi also sounded confused as she eyed the girl in front of them.

The blond bit his bottom lip, considering things. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he said, "I'm guessing you want to come with me?" Sana's eyes brightened and she nodded her head. "Alright, but, to let you know, things might not always be safe. I'm always on the road, doing small missions like killing people." He waited for the girl to respond, but again, she didn't. "Hey, are you gonna talk to me?"

Sana only started at him with her green orbs. She didn't speak or nod her head or even shake it. She just simply watched him.

/What am I supposed to do? She won't talk!/ Naruto thought to the fox, half irritated, half disappointed.

'_I don't know. Maybe she's mad at you because you left her.' _Kyuubi guessed. '_But, let's not dwell on the past; we should be heading home. It's getting kind of dark….'_

Naruto nodded. Aloud, he said to Sana, "Well, I'm on my way home, but, that's a day's trip from here if I run. But, seeing as you should probably be able to keep up with me, we'll walk. Sound okay?"

Surprising him, she shook her head and stood up. "We'll run." She spoke with such a soft voice, she reminded him of one of his friends, Hinata. She took one step away from Naruto and jumped down from the tree.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Uh . . . okay," he got to his feet and jumped down from the tree,

Already a few trees away from him, was Sana. She was waiting for him patiently.

/How'd she get over there so fast?/ He asked Kyuubi. The fox just shrugged like she didn't care and lay back down, stretching. Mimicking her, Naruto also shrugged and ran over to Sana.

Together, the two ran at a pretty fast pace. Amazing him, Sana kept up with him when the blond doubled his speed.

'_Who is this girl,' _Naruto thought to himself. '_No one should be able to keep up with me. The only person that could was always Gaara. Jiraiya could try to, but soon I was passing him.' _

A few hours passed before they stopped for a break. They rested next to a huge oak tree and Sana sat down on one of its roots that was sticking out. Naruto stayed standing and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Where'd you learn to run like that?" He asked, breaking the silence.

She looked at him. "I've always been able to run like that, even since I can remember." Her voice was still soft and wasn't panting.

The blond nodded before asking, "Do you what I am?" the girl shook her head, wondering why he was asking that. "I'm a ninja. Do you know what ninja are?" She nodded but didn't say anything. "Alright . . . one more question, do you know what chakra is?" Like her first answer, she shook her head.

Naruto paused thinking. _'Hm . . . she has the ability to become a ninja, but she doesn't know what chakra is. From her aura, I can tell she has some, well a lot. Hm . . .' _((Weird that he's asking her that, but why not?))

"Sana, how would you like to become a ninja? I could teach you anything you would like to know, and I take it you wanted to be traveling with me. But, if you do, I need to be able to trust you not to get killed because you didn't know anything. What do you say?"

Sana's eyes rounded like a kids on Christmas. She nodded her head eagerly.

Naruto smiled but looked her over. "But first, we need to get you out of those clothes."

XxxxX

Naruto and Sana had continued to run and in half an hour, they stopped at the next town. They found a clothes store, and for the next hour, Sana was trying on clothes, just like any particular girl. Though, she was very nervous and shy and felt like she was doing something wrong. Naruto couldn't blame her, after being with an abusive father. Naruto had to keep reminding the girl that it was alright and she was doing nothing wrong.

Finally, without breaking Naruto's wallet, she found herself a ninja outfit.

As they were leaving, Naruto holding the bags, he said, "We'll be staying here tonight. Tomorrow, while we travel, I'll teach you the basics. But, after dinner and showers tonight, I'll explain what chakra is." He glanced over at the small girl to find her looking around. At her sides, her hands were curled in fists.

'_Strange,' _Naruto thought.

For the next hour, Naruto checked into a hotel with nice springs. They ate supper at a ramen shop, well, Naruto ate, and Sana played with hers but ate some of it like her stomach wasn't able to contain it, all the while with the blond watching her. He wasn't going to take an eye off of her, one, because he didn't trust her (Cause they just met) and two, well, he just didn't yet trust her.

"So," Naruto said, finishing his ramen. Sana instantly looked up from her ramen bowl. "Let's start the lesson." He turned his to the side so it would be easier to address her. "You said you didn't know what chakra was, right? Well, to make the definition easier for you to understand, it's the energy required in order to perform ninjutsu."

"What's ninjutsu?" Sana asked.

"Um . . . ninjutsu is-,"

Before he could explain, Kyuubi asked, '_Are you sure it's alright to teach her? What if she doesn't have what it takes to become a ninja?' _

/She does. If she didn't, she'll figure that out./

'_I don't know kit. For some reason, I don't think you should be anywhere near her. She doesn't . . . feel right.'_

To Naruto, it was almost rare to hear Kyuubi feel uneasy. If they were ever in a tough situation, she never sounded like this. He could count on one hand how many times Kyuubi felt uneasy and said something about it. And most of them was when he was sick and was about to be ambushed by people, or was close to dying.

/What kind of feeling?/ Naruto thought, become alerted.

The fox then sighed. '_I'll tell you later . . . the girl is confused.' _

He blinked and realized the fox was right. Sana was watching him confused eyes. To recover, he smiled his goofy trade smile and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh . . . sorry, was just thinking about the old days." He lied. "Well, ninjutsu is like martial arts . . ."

Sana looked away feeling stupid. "Oh, I should have known that."

Naruto chuckled. "Hey, don't worry about it. Some people have no clue what it is, and they are like, a hundred years old. But, anyways, you now know what chakra is. C'mon, let's go find a nice tree to climb." He set some money on the counter for their meals and stood up.

Sana followed him without a further comment.

As they walked, Naruto looked over his shoulder. Sana was directly behind him with her eyes casted downward, not looking up. The he noticed her still in the torn tan dress he found her in.

"Hey, do you wanna take a bath and changed into your clothes first?" He asked.

She looked up, wide eyed then looked down to what she was wearing.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to," He quickly said. But the girl shook her head.

"A bath would be nice . . . . Especially wearing something new." She said and glanced up to see if he was okay with it.

The blond nodded before changing direction and heading back towards the hotel they were staying at.

Within twenty minutes, the two were cleaned and dressed. Naruto was still wearing exactly what he was wearing, but first got it washed. Sana was entirely different. Instead of wearing the filthy, torn dress, she now was wearing a black tank top, black short shorts, fingerless fishnet gloves that went up to her elbows, fishnet leggings and knee-high black boots that had a heel to them. On her right hip was a pouch containing knives, other useful thing, and a medicine kit. On her leg held all of the paper bombs. Her long brown hair had been trimmed by a lady from the springs and was now pulled up into a high pony tail.

"You look great," Naruto observed when she had walked out of the changing rooms.

A light pink spread across the eleven year old girl's face. She looked down at her feet, embarrassed. "T-thanks."

The blond chuckled. "C'mon, let's go find a tree first, then I'll explain things."

As they were walking, He couldn't help but look over his shoulder. "So Sana," she looked up and met his blue eyes. "I gotta know, especially if I'm taking you under my wing. Why did you want to come with me? I don't accept people tagging along with me, so you better have a good reason."

He waited for a few minutes, watching curiously as the girl's face turned from a curious expression to expressing nothing.

"Like I said before, I have to follow you; you're my mater." Her voice had gone so soft, that Naruto would have missed what she said if not for his high hearing that he adapted from Kyuubi. Since he heard the answer, anger flickered across his face and his eyes turned blood red. He stopped walking.

Unaware by the suddenness, Sana bumped into him.

"I am not your master!" Naruto growled and spun around, grabbing her arms tightly. The small girl's eyes widen in terror. She tried to take a step back, but he wouldn't let her. His blood red eyes stared into her green, and she then noticed that his pupils were slit like a cats.

Naruto kneeled down until he was at eye level with her. "I never want you to think that way again, Sana. You are free to say and do what you want. You no longer have a master, nor is anyone going to be one. Do you understand? I don't want you to say that again or I will leave you in a village and won't give you time to come after me."

Sana barely nodded her head. She could feel tears wanting to form, but couldn't/ She couldn't cry, it was against her own rule; never show true emotion. But, how the blond had yelled, scarred her so much . . . how could she not cry?

Naruto must have noticed. His eyes averted back to his original, hard blue gaze and his grip on her softened so much that he was barely holding her.

"I didn't mean to be so harsh. Sometimes I forget about being gently. But, just remember, feel free to speak what's on your mind. There's no one here to hurt you, or to judge you. If they do, considered their asses kicked, alright?" His voice softened so much that you would have thought he was a totally new person.

"A-alright, Naruto." Sana whispered, still a bit scared.

He chuckled and stood up. "That's the first time you've said my name. C'mon, let's go."

Sana could only nod and walk after him, unsure what to feel.

XxxxX

It was well after midnight when they stepped into a small clearing that was surrounded by trees. Naruto leaned against one of the trees and watched Sana look around and came to a stop a few feet in front of him.

"Your first lesson," Naruto started. Sana flickered her green eyes over to the blond. "You'll be climbing trees."

Sana buried her eyebrows down in a confused way. "But, I already know - -,"

"With your hands, yes," Naruto interrupted. "But, we'll be climbing the trees with our feet using chakra."

To demonstrate what he was talking about, he crossed his fingers to form a cross and pushed off the tree. Sana watched in wonder as he walk towards a different tree and . . . started to climb up it.

"Being able to focus all your chakra to your feet is harder than it looks, but it's very useful in battle." By now, he walked to a high branch. Instead of standing on top of the branch, he was standing upside down with his arms crossed at his chest.

"How do you do that?" Sana asked, very surprised and looked eager to learn.

Naruto smiled. "You have to build enough stamina necessary to complete you task once the chakra has been focused." He said, reciting what his old sensi had told him, so many years ago. He unfolded his arms and reached into his pouch located on his left hip. As he was talked, he rummaged around it and pulled something out. "Now, cross your fingers together like how I did, it's how you form a jutsu."

Sana did as she was told and crossed her fingers together.

"Now, focus all of the energy of your chakra towards the soles of your feet and use that power to climb the tree. Pick any tree you want." The object Naruto had pulled out, he thrown it to the ground where Sana was standing. She peered down at it to see a kunai.

"I want you to mark each time you run up the tree. The object of this is to mark higher and higher with each try."

Sana nodded and reached down to pick the kunai up. She looked at Naruto, who nodded, before taking a running start at a tree.

Ten minutes hadn't even gone by when Sana made it to one of the top branches of the tree. She threw the kunai to the earth floor where Naruto was leaning on a tree.

The blond smiled. "Great job, Sana. C'mon down."

The brunette nodded, but instead of jumping down branch to branch, like how most people did it, she disappeared.

Naruto blinked, confused, but then going on defensive. A kunai was immediately in hand and he took up a fighting stance, scanning his surroundings. '_Where'd she go?' _You never know when someone is out to get you. And as if answering his thoughts, he felt a presence beside him. Turning that way, was the eleven year old girl.

'_See? This is what I've been talking about . . .' _Kyuubi suddenly growled.

Naruto blinked and lowered his weapon. "How'd," he pointed to where the empty tree was to where Sana was just standing. "How'd you get here so fast? Where did you go?"

"What do you mean?" Sana asked.

""I mean, usually it takes about, well, a lot longer to get back to the floor than what you did. How'd you do it?" He tried to explain.

The ninja in training just shrugged. "I don't know. I've always been able to do that. I'm in one place, then I think about a different one, and poof, I'm there. Sometimes, I can poof to a really far place, like miles away."

"Oh, that makes sense . . ." Naruto said, putting the pieces together. "Well, at least we found one of your special jutsu's."

Sana looked at him with curious eyes. "We do? What is it?"

The blond smiled. "Not many ninja's can doing it, especially go as far as you said. And it is Teleportation."

**XxxxX**

**And there you have it! If I can, I'll try to bring the next chapter up soon… but I doubt it. And to also remind you, this is my first Naruto fic, so it won't be that good….. :/ **

**R&R!**

**Nicklaren: **Thank you very much!

**Zenbon Zakura: **Sorry it took so long! I've just been depressed lately and what not. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Hektols: ** And okay, so what if you do not like it? I don't care. And I'll have you know, Naruto ain't pathetic. The reason he left was because he was tired of being there. He didn't exactly do what the elders wanted him to do. He was going to leave regardless. :\

**To the anonymous writer that went by the name of Blue:** For your information, this is a FANFICTION STORY WHERE NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO GO WORD FOR WORD WITH THE ACTUAL ANIME/MANGA! Kyuubi ain't the same! I made it a girl, and she ain't that vicious! Go read other stories, maybe _then _you'll know what I mean. And like I said, this is a FANfiction story, I can make anything happen, so what, what the elders did, who cares if they don't get the final law or whatever. Third, I don't understand what you meant, jerk. And fourth, why is that even a reason? I find it cool when you add your own character to the main cast! Sana is very important and without her, this story wouldn't be what it is! Sorry 'bout your luck of finding a 'horrible' story, Jerk.

Thanks to those who reviewed and liked it! I'll try to bring the next chapter up as soon as I can!


	5. Welcome to the Sand

Oh, an FYI, when it comes for imagining Naruto, he looks exactly the same as in Shippuden. Except that his clothing changed, his hair a tad bit longer with his tips dyed red, and taller. :p

**DISCLAIMER: ****I DO NOT OWN Naruto nor any of its characters, just my own!**

Chapter five: Welcome to the Sand

Without even noticing, three weeks had gone by. Naruto decided to stay in the little village to train Sana before going home. And, well, it was a good thing he stayed. The surroundings Sana was in helped her a lot. Instead of always traveling like she did with her father, she seemed more relaxed, learned more, and started to trust Naruto. Before, even though she thought Naruto was her master, she had no trust for him. But now, there was.

Even though it has only been three weeks, Sana learned everything as if it had been two years. Things that took most ninja's months to learns, took Sana hours. This had surprised Naruto very much. The two got stuff done in very little time.

At some points in time, the blond always wondered how she was able to do it, but nothing ever came to mind. Kyuubi told him that there was something off about her, something that she had never sensed in anyone before. And when an all powerful demon like that says something like that, its bad news. But, Naruto said they would worry about it later.

"Sana, wake up." A voice whispered, driving the girl out of her dreams. She blinked her eyes opened and yawned. She looked up into the friendly blue eyes of her sensei.

"We're leaving," Naruto started. He was crouched down next to her, already dressed for the day, his normal orange clothes and over coat.

At those words, all sleep vanished from Sana's mind. "Already? Where are we going?" The excitement in her voice made the blond smile, reminding him a bit of himself years ago.

"I'm going home and you're coming with me." He said standing straight. "It's been a few months since I've visited my home."

Sana wiggled out from under her blankets and started to tie her long brown hair up. She slipped into her knee-high boots and fish net gloves.

While she got ready, Naruto folded her blankets up and placed them in the bag he had bought for her. He didn't have a bag; instead he had a pouch that he kept on his hip where he stored his important things and everything else, like his own blanket was already gone.

"How far is your home?"

"It's about a normal day run from here. But, between your speed and mine, we could make it in about half a day. Well, that is if you're up to it." He added when Sana got to her feet.

The girl nodded. "Alright. I'm up for a good run."

Naruto nodded and within ten minutes, the two were running out of town while the first rays of the sun started to shine.

As the two ran, their pace matching one another, Naruto looked over to find his apprentice with an emotionless expression. He looked back ahead of him and spoke with a normal voice, "You know, if there's anything you wanna talk about, anything at all, you can say it."

Sana turned her bright green eyes to Naruto before quickly looking away. She nodded but didn't say anything.

Naruto let out a silent sigh but let the silence wash over them.

While they ran, a sleepy voice poked around his thoughts. He rolled his eyes before addressing the fox, /G'morning, Kyuubi. Sorry to have waken you./

He received an annoyed growl.

/Hey, hey, hey, we had to wake up early to arrive at the Sand in a few hours./ Naruto thought back.

'_Yes, but couldn't you have done so smoother?' _Kyuubi asked annoyed. In Naruto's mind, she uncurled herself before stretching.

/Whatever./ Was all Naruto thought back. He jumped over a fallen tree and continued to keep running. /Oh, hey Kyuubi. What do you think Gaara would say when he see's Sana?/

'_How the hell am I supposed to know?'_

He shrugged. /Just wonderin'./

Kyuubi let a low, irritated growl escape her throat. '_Wonder to yourself next time, kit.' _The blond let out a low chuckle. Man, was she not a morning fox.

Sana looked over at her sensi when he laughed. "What's funny?" She asked.

Naruto looked over. "Oh, I was laughing aloud? Sorry. But I was just thinking."

"Oh, okay." She mumbled. They ran in silence for a while longer before she asked, "Were you talking to Kyuubi?"

The blond almost tripped over his own feet but he quickly caught his balance. "How do you know about her?" He asked, shocked.

Sana shrugged. "I've heard you mumble to her in your sleep. And also," she said, but her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "My father talked about her a lot."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, as did Kyuubi. "What all did he say?"

"Well . . . what everybody had said; she was a vile, horrible creature and was trapped inside an infant twenty-something years ago. Then, when the baby grew up, the people in the village called him demon and didn't trust him because of the nine-tails." She whispered. She took a peak over at Naruto only to find his face washed of all emotion. Quickly, she adds, "But, I don't agree with what everyone says. The fox could be bad, but, she could also be good too." When the blond didn't say anything, she continued, "And as for the kid, how can he be a demon when he helped a girl get rid of her abusive father and been nice to her ever since? It doesn't make any sense."

Now Naruto looked at her. He stopped running and just stood there. Sana also stopped but was a few feet in front of him. She turned to face him.

"So, you know what I am and you still haven't run away screaming?" he asked.

Sana furrowed her slender eyebrows slightly. "Why would I run away screaming? All you've ever shown me is kindness. It doesn't matter what you have inside you. All that does is how you act."

The blond smiled sadly. "Only if they could see it that way." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry? Who could see it that way?"

Naruto blinked his eyes a few times. "Huh?" Sana repeated what she said. "Oh . . . uh, it's my old village."

Her eyes widened. "Old village? But, how is that possible? I mean, you're going home, which is your village. How is it old?"

"It's a long story," Naruto said, half heatedly.

Sana nodded. "Long stories usually help pass the time easier. If you want, we could walk and talk." Naruto mimicked her nodding and they both started to walk, evenly matching their paces.

'_She really trusts you, kit.' _Kyuubi mumbled. '_And she's getting more louder and confident when speaking.' _The blond nodded in agreement.

"I live in the Sand village; that's my new home." He began. "My real home, the village where I grew up, made friends and lived, was the village Hidden in the Leaves. I lived there ever since I was twenty. And now, I'm twenty-two.

"Well, when I was a kid, all of the villagers, and I do mean all, hated me because the nine-tails lived inside me. They called me all sorts of names and always abused me. Well, like throwing things at me when I walked by. I was a lot younger than you, Sana. But, a lot of that changed." He closed his eyes as he relived the painful memories. "I'll go into details later about most things, but for now, I'll start when the day things started happening." He opened his eyes.

He talked about when he was a genin and his team. He didn't go into details, like he said, except for describing his squad, and he only talked about major things. He must have talked for at least an hour.

When he paused for some oxygen, Sana asked, "So Sasuke left to get more powerful to kill his brother? That's . . . charming."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, but that's an even longer story. But anyways, when Sasuke _did _leave, I left for three years to train with the Pervy-sage, Jiraiya. Sakura learned to be a medic ninja from training with Tsunade." He talked a bit about how his life went on from there.

"So, you said you got Sasuke back, how?" Sana asked, paying attention.

The blonds' expression darkened a bit. "Well, it's rather complicated."

Sana took the hint. "I'll ask you about it a different day." She said. Naruto shot her a 'thank-you' look before looking ahead of him.

They walked in silence for a while until Sana broke it. "So, why did you leave?"

The blond snorted, surprising the girl. "I didn't get a choice on leaving. The elders of the village banished me. They said that they were tired of having the 'Demon child' in their village. Them and a few others."

"Was there nothing you could have done?"

"They made their minds up. At the meeting, they gave me a choice: I could leave myself or they could chase me out. I chose to leave myself. Since I did that, some of my friends think I just left . . ."

"When you left," she wanted him to keep going, "did you go straight to the village we are going to now?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup. I have friends there; Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of the Sand. Gaara has a demon in him too. He is the one tail while I'm the nine. They accepted me and I've made the Sand my home. But, I travel a lot, so I'm hardly there."

"Will your friends not mind me coming?"

"Nah, I'll tell them the situation you were in. Either way, they won't mind."

As they continued to walk, another silence grew between them though this one was longer. While they walked, the trees started to thin out and a few piles of sand started to make it selves known.

Sana looked over at her sensi to find him deep in thought a while later. He had his hands buried in his pockets as he looked ahead of himself. His face was washed of all emotions except for this thinking face. ((Whatever it may be))

"Um . . . Naruto?"

He didn't look at her. "Hm?"

"Can we start running?" She asked, feeling bored from just walking. When they run, they go faster and it's easier to think about things. When you're walking, you just go so slow.

"Sure," he said absently.

The two started running and before they knew it, two hours had passed. They came to a halt on the border of the forest and started into an open sea of sand.

"We don't have very long till we reach the village." Naruto said, rather cheery all of a sudden.

Sana nodded. "How long would that be?"

"Well, about half an hour. We're rather close to our destination."

Once again, the two were off running.

"What's Gaara like?" The girl asked out of curiosity.

Naruto thought for a moment, thinking of the best explanation to describe the red-head. "He's hard to explain. At first glance, he seems imitating and scary and he acts like that for a while, but after a while and you get to know him, he's not as scary." He smiled. "He doesn't talk a lot like me, but talks. If that makes sense. If you're wondering, I'm part of their family; Kankuro's, Temari's and Garra's. They adopted me."

"Like you adopted me?" Sana asked quietly.

With the trees no longer shielding the two, the afternoon's sun blazed down on them. Naruto's blue eyes glimmered and he nodded his head. "Just like I adopted you."

XxxxX

Naruto and Sana made it into the village without meeting any scouts. Probably because they knew it was Naruto and that he was no threat. The blond led Sana up the side stairs of a huge building. Once they reached the top, Naruto had Sana stop as he bit his left thumb, surprising Sana, and smeared the fresh blood on the sand building.

In a flash, the dried sand crumbled away like the sand falling from an hourglass to reveal a hallway. The blond grinned and motioned for the girl to go it.

"It's a code only me and Gaara know." He explained as Sana walked in cautiously. "Using your own blood, either mine or his, the other is alerted on where the other is. So, if I'm out on some mission or whatever and Gaara uses the code, I know he's okay."

They walked down the small hallway. It was bare except for torches lining the walls, every few yards or so. The walls were made from sand, but it was dried and hard.

"Is that all it does?"

"Nope. Besides it only tellin us that the other is okay, it sends an image to both of us on how the other - -,"

"So it sends you an image? Like you will see what he's doing and vice versa?" She guessed.

"Yup. As of now, Gaara is in a meeting, so we're just going to our lounging room." Sana nodded.

"Naruto!" A female's voice sounded somewhere ahead. "So you finally come home after what, three months?"

"Three and a half, sis." A different voice commented. This voice was a bit deep though friendly. Obviously is was male.

Naruto smiled from his adopted siblings comments. "I was busy," he yelled back as he and Sana finally came into view with a large, circular room.

The room looked pretty relaxing; there were a few couches facing one another, rugs covering the sandy floor, a coffee table in the middle of the couches. In the far corner of the room was a mini kitchen with a big fridge. A table was also in the kitchen. Pictures of people hung on the walls; pictures of the siblings. (One of them even had Gaara doing a funny pose) On of the end tables that was against a wall held some plants and a lamp while the other table had a rather large candle burning and with four pictures on it.

Lounging on one of the couches with her feet tucked underneath her was a blond woman, her hair separated into four pony tails. Two on top two on bottom. She was wearing a black kimono that was short sleeved and had a giant closed fan on the ground in front of her. She had a cup of, what looked to be tea in her hands.

In the kitchen was a man with black pants and shirt. On his face was purple paint. He had brown hair on top of his head. (His hood was down). He walked over to Naruto.

"How was your traveling?" The man asked and grasped the blonds forearm in greetings. "We thought you were never coming back."

Naruto laughed. "It was alright; been training mostly." The two let each other go as they walked towards the couches. Sana stayed right behind Naruto like a puppy.

"Ah, learn anything new?"

Naruto grinned mischievously. "We'll of course, Kankuro. You don't think I'd train myself for two months straight without learning anything new, would you?"

The man, Kankuro chuckled. Before he could say anything, the lady on the couch looked behind the blond and asked, "Naruto, who's behind you?"

The blond looked behind himself to find Sana being shy and hiding herself. He laughed and gave her a gently push with his hand to bring her forward. "This is Sana. I saved her from a group of bandits and am training her to become a ninja Sana, this is Kankuro and Temari."

Sana just acknowledged them with a nod of her head.

"Well, hello there, Sana. As Naruto said, I'm Kankuro." Kankuro said and walked over to her and knelt down. He held his hand out and had on a friendly smile.

Sana took his hand in hers. His hand was warm and firm and strong. They parted.

Temari got up from the couch and put her mug down on the table before walking over to her. Like her brother, she knelt down and held out her own hand.

"I'm Temari. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled warmly.

Sana took her hand before saying, "The pleasures all mine." Temari's hand was soft and gently but at the same time firm. When they parted, the tow older ones stood up.

"Well, Sana, how long have you known Naruto?" Temari asked. She walked back to the couch. But before she did, she sent an odd look to the blond, thinking that Sana wasn't looking.

Sana looked up at Naruto. He smiled down at her before following Temari's lead and walked over to the couches.

"Um . . . about a month." She answered, also following the others.

Everyone sat down; Temari back in her spot with Kankuro sitting next to her and Naruto relaxing on the couch opposite from them. He leaned his head back against the couch board. Sana stood next to the couch, feeling awkward.

Temari smiled. "You can sit down, Sana. It won't bite."

She nodded and sat down on the very edge of the chair that Naruto was sitting on. She placed her hands in her lap and looked down at them.

"So, what's been going on?" Naruto asked. He closed his eyes, feeling comforted by his surroundings. If they let him, he would have fallen asleep right then and there.

"The usual." Kankuro replied. "Missions, scouting, meetings." Even though the blonds' eyes were closed, he could image him grimacing. "But, everything's been dull and boring with you gone. You always take all of the fun with you when you leave."

"And Gaara was getting worried about you. He was tempted to go and look for you." Temari added.

Naruto's eyes flashed opened and had a wide but hurt grin on his face. "I'm hurt. Does he not think I can take care of myself?"

"Of course not." A different voice said. Sana looked around, as did everyone else to find a man about Naruto's height, has red hair, light blue eyes with a black surrounding it. On his forehead had the symbol of 'Love' on it. He was wearing dark maroon color clothes and with black pants. He walked into the room with his arms crossed at his chest.

"Hey, Gaara," Naruto stood up and greeted the red head half way. Like Kankuro's greeting, Naruto and Gaara grasped forearms.

In a calm, low voice, Gaara responded, "Naruto, I assume your training went well?"

The blond chuckled as the two step brothers ((That's what I'll be mentioning them as, Step brothers.)) walked over to the couches. Naruto sat in his spot and Gaara stood standing. He looked over to Sana, who looked away feeling uncomfortable.

"You are Sana, I assume?" he asked. She looked up and met his eyes and nodded. "I am Gaara. Welcome to the sand."

XxxxX

And there you have it. ^^ I just love Gaara. He and Naruto are my two favorite characters!

Thanks for continuing to read the story. It's not the best, but it's something!

And, if you were wondering, the background story for Sasuke is coming. But, it's horrible. Remember, this is my first Naruto story so it ain't the best. Sasuke's story sucks ass. It's horrible. X.X

And, just an FYI

Sana's teleportation, it's not shunshin no sana. It's an actual jutsu that is rare and only a few people know how to do. She's a true teleporter….. And… so for the future reference, she is a very powerful, rare person that you won't really see. (I made her up) she ain't as powerful as Kyuubi, hell no, but more powerful than regular shinobi. Just an FYI and I'll explain more later on through the chapters.

And yes, Sana is a true teleporter! ^^

troutman30 - Hm…. I don't think Temari will get to see. :/ Sana becomes use to Naruto before she meets heeeeeer oops, now I wasn't supposed to say anything like that. Pretend you didn't read me say that ;) lol


	6. Uzumaki

Sorry once again. I just keep forgetting to update this story! :( I will try to change that. I know I keep saying that, but this time I will try!

**DISCLAIMER: ****I DO NOT OWN Naruto nor any of its characters, just my own!**

Chapter Six: Uzumaki

Sana nodded her thanks.

Gaara looked at Naruto before saying, "I need yo talk with you, Naruto." The blond let out a playful groan and stood up. He stretched real fast before Gaara turned away and with Naruto following close behind, started to walk back the way he entered the room. Kankuro stood up as well and quickly pursued after them, leaving Temari and Sana alone in the room.

Once the three boys left, Temari watched Sana with a thoughtful expression. "So, Sana, how old are you?"

Sana looked up from her hands and answered, "Eleven."

The other chick nodded. "So, you're an eleven year old girl. Do you like to shop?"

"Shop?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what shopping is." She raised an eyebrow, a bit shocked. When Sana just looked at her, she explained, "You know, buying stuff. Clothes and shows and jewelery and new weapons." Then she thought, '_I guess she's never been shopping before.'_

The eleven year old nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, shopping. Well, to tell you the truth, I've only been shopping once."

With the shock clearly on her face, Temari blinked. "Really?" Sana nodded her head. Then, Temari smiled with an evil grin on her face. "Well then, that's going to change."

XxxxX

Gaara led Naruto and Kankuro out into the hallway and closed the door so that the two in the room couldn't hear them. He turned to the blond. "Explain." He crossed his arms like he always does whenever he expected an explanation or story or a report. One of his signature stances, some would say.

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes. "I was coming home a few weeks ago when I ran into a campsite. The site was trashed out with all of these men lounging around. From the sight of them, I could tell they were bandits. And from looking at their stuff and some of the guys cleaning the blood off their swords and other weapons, they just got down terrorizing a village. So, I killed the lot so they wouldn't be messing with anyone else."

"What about the girl?" Kankuro asked, standing in the same stance as his biological brother. He tilted his head towards the closed door, indicating Sana.

Naruto's expression changed and turned serious with an edge to it. "Sana's father treated her like a slave. She had chains around her wrists and neck and was wearing dirty, torn clothes. If you saw her there, looking like she was, you would have done the same thing. She didn't belong there. Not to mention that her father was the leader of the bunch, making it worst of all.

"So, after I killed the men, I took her and went to find a village." He continued. "I left her with a nice family in a village and left her there. When I left, she was asleep. About an hour or two later, I was on my way here when I felt someone following me."The person following me was Sana." Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "I questioned her about why she followed me and lets just say she didn't want to live there and wanted to stay with me." His expression became thoughtful but still had an edge to it like he didn't want to say what had really happened. "I've been training her for the last three weeks."

"What else?" Gaara prompted.

"There is none. I haven't gotten her back story of what had happened to her yet. I gave her mine, though, hoping that it'll help her trust me more to share some things." Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes with a sigh. "I can say though, that part of her trusts me, and the other part doesn't." When he reopened his eyes, they were troubled.

Gaara's expression was unreadable, like always. "So you took her in." He sounded like he was just making sure that's what his step-brother meant. "So you're allowing her to live with you?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Until she doesn't want to be around me. I'm not forcing her to do anything she doesn't want to. And, if she doesn't want to live with me, then I won't stop her in leaving. I just wanted to make sure she was away and lived a free life. If she want's to stay with me, she is welcomed."

After a moment of silence, Naruto asked, "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Gaara nodded his head. "Just making sure." With their talk now done, the three shinobi walked back into the room where the two girls were still seated on the couches.

Temari and Sana were still in the same places when the boys got back. Though, they had started talking. When the boys came into view, they stopped and watched them come over and took their original places.

"Welcome back." Temari greeted with a smile saying _you-better-tell-me-what's-happening-later. _

Naruto got comfortable on the couch next to Sana and leaned back. She greeted him with a shy smile and a nod of her head. Gaara now stood behind Naruto's couch instead of sitting down. For some reason, he always found standing more comfortable.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Naruto asked, starting up a conversation.

Sana looked over to Temari who grinned. "Oh, nothing that concerns you."

The blond furrowed hie eyebrows and frowned. "C'mon, you know I hate hate when you do this!" He whined, giving the impression that he was ten instead of his twenty-one years.

"If I tell you," Temari grinned, having that evil smile in place and gave a wink over to Sana. "Then you'll have to come shopping with us and pay for whatever we want."

Naruto gulped, losing his frown. "Uh . . . So, Gaara, how was the meeting?" He asked, changing the subject as fast as he could. He leaned his head back to look at the Kazekage upside down.

As they talked, Sana started to loosen up and relax. She found herself leaning into the comfortable couch. The bickering and playful arguments reminded her of her mother and few siblings she had. Even though they were all young, they still playfully argued. She felt her eye lids slowly close on her, having no more energy to keep them opened. Her breathing slowed down until each breath was even and smooth.

While the four siblings continued their playful bickering, well, Naruto and Kankuro, Sana was dozing off, comfortable where she was. But, while she started to fall asleep she began to get into the position she always sleeps in. She slowly curled into a ball and snuggled up against what she thought was a pillow.

"Huh?" Naruto stopped talking when he felt someone gently grab his arm and felt that someone lean on him. He looked down and smiled. Sana was asleep and subconsciously snuggling against him.

"Well, should we be concerned, Naruto?" Temari teased, though she thought it was cute how Sana just grabbed a hold of him in her sleep.

Like a little kid, Naruto turned to the chick and stuck his tongue out at her. When Temari stuck her tongue out at him, he rolled his eyes and looked back down to Sana. "I guess I tired her out by all of the running today." He said and gently brushed a strand of her hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

'_That, or maybe she's just found peace and is relaxing.' _Kyuubi commented in his head. She watched the child with a warm expression. For the first time since they met her, this was the first she ever looked so in peace.

"Well, I'm going to go put her in my room where she can sleep without being woken up by Kankuro's yelling." Naruto smirked to Kankuro who glared at him. He lightly pulled his arm out of her grasp and scooped her into his arms as gently as possible, trying not to wake her up. In his arms, Sana immediately snuggled against his chest. "I'll be back," He said and walked out of the room and down the hallway he, Gaara, and Kankuro were occupying half an hour ago.

During the walk to his room from the living room, it was quiet. Not even the light from the holders made any sound. Best time to let your mind wonder and that is exactly what Naruto did.

/What you said earlier, Kyuubi, could it be true? That she found peace, I mean./ Naruto thought, wondering if that could be true.

'_Well, she seems relaxed. And by the way her expression is, she's in peace. I don't think you fall asleep looking like that and is mad about something, do you? And when she fell asleep against you, she's never done that before. Right now, her aura is calm.' _The fox answered.

/Aura? You can feel that?/ Naruto asked, a bit surprised. You may always say you know everything about a person, but you always find out that is a lie.

Kyuubi rolled her eyes. '_Oh kit, you are something. For the millionth time, I have already answered that question. Make sure it sticks to that small brain of yours. Yes, I can feel people's auras. Though, you have to be at close radius if I am able to read it.' _Naruto sent back a cocky grin in response to her answer.

'_I always ask myself why I was even locked inside you. Why couldn't my vessel be someone smarter?' _ She mused.

Naruto turned down a hallway, /If you had someone else, you'd miss me too much. Don't deny the truth./ He added when the fox rolled her eyes.

He stopped right outside one of the many doors on the hallway. Though, unlike all of the other doors, in the middle of the wood was the spiral symbol of the Leaf village. He may have been banished, but he still held onto his old life, but like he still held on to his old head band even if he doesn't wear it anymore. As gently as he could, he adjusted Sana so he could open the door.

Even though evening has not yet approached, the room was pitch black. The only light seen was from the hallway, illuminating a few objects in the room. The blond took a step into his room and flipped the light switch on to reveal a bed, dresser, a desk with a lamp, and another door that went to the bathroom.

Naruto walked further into the room and went to the bed. He slowly placed the sleeping girl on his bed and grabbed a blanket at the end to place over her. He turned around to leave, but something grabbed his wrist. He turned around to see sleepy green eyes watching him.

"Sana, sorry to disturb you, but I thought you wanted to sleep on something more comfortable." Naruto explained.

The little girl released him and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her dazzling green eyes. She muttered, "You know," she said in a soft voice, "you told me about you and your life. I, I was thinking that if you are to trust me, I should tell you mine. You already allowed me to live with you and invited me to your home. I think it's only fair."

Naruto frowned, touched that she wanted to share, but he didn't find it necessary right now. "You don't have to-,"

Sana cut him off with a small shake of her head. "I want you to trust me, but in order to do that, you need to know a bit more about me." Naruto nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed, waiting for her to start. Sana brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her slender arms around them.

She started off in a small, quiet voice. "I know you're curious about my father and why he did what he did. But, just so you know, he wasn't always like that.

"When I was around five years old, I lived with my father, my mother, and my two younger brothers. We were a happy family. Me and my brothers were more closer to my mother because she was always home while my father went to work. That's how it always is with every family. Well, we loved our mother very, very much. She protected us from everything; from bugs to snakes, from bullies at the academy to when my father got mad." Sana's eyes glazed over as she spook. "Even though we were a happy family, my father always got into a drunk rage whenever he was either mad or something happened at work." Naruto stayed quiet, but mentally, growled in his throat.

"Sometimes at night, my father would come home late because he was out drinking his problems away. When he got home, he always yelled very loudly and sometimes, he even hit my mom. It usually depended on how mad he and drunk he was if he came into the room I shared with my two other brothers. I was usually huddled with my brothers on my bed, hugging them tight, wishing for my father to stop yelling. But, that never happened. If he came into our room, he would pry me from my brothers and he would . . . he always hit me and yell at me. I was too little to understand what he was yelling about."

She paused for a moment, lost in her memories.

Gently, Naruto placed a hand on hers. She didn't look up, though he whispered in an encouraging voice, "Go on."

"Well, it stayed like that for a little over a year. We couldn't tell anyone because he threatened to kill my younger brother." Tears welled up into her eyes. "And that's exactly what happened. Just one time, I was talking to one of the officers because they were asking about a bruise I had on my cheek. I told them that I fell. They believed me and didn't questioned me anymore and they left. That only last for like a minute . . . Well, when I got home, my mother, my mother was sitting with her back to the door in a growing puddle of blood. I got scared." Now, the tears fell freely down her cheeks and she did nothing to wipe them away. "My father somehow saw me talking to the officer. He thought . . . he thought I had told him that he was abusing us. He . . . he killed my little brother!

"After that," she sniffled as she continued, "my mother tried to run away with me and my other brother. We thought we got a good ways, but, my father had followed us. He caught up with us when we stopped to take a break and he, he . . . . Right in front of me, he slaughtered my defenseless brother and my mom." This time, she buried her head in her knees. In a muffled voice, though Naruto could still understand her, she continued, "My father didn't want to be found out that he killed his family, minus me. So he ran away from our home, forcing me to go along with him. We were living on the road, stealing from people and killing others. I kept trying to run away from him, to escape, but he would always find me, hurt me, and then forced me to stay with him. Along the way, my father started gathering followers. With the other guys, my father treated me more like a slave and always had me run and cook them something to eat or give them 'entertainment'." She shuddered. "It's been like that until you found me. For five years, I lived like that."

As she finished her story, Kyuubi, who had been listening whispered, '_She's had a ruff childhood.' _

Naruto nodded and scooted over to sit beside her. He gently pulled her into her arms and asked her, " What were your brothers names?"

"Cal and Caito. They were twins." Sana sobbed. She lifted her face from her knees and buried it into Naruto's chest as she continued to cry. The blond nodded and took her pony tail out of her hair. Slowly, he ran his hand through her hair to help calm her down.

"You know, I can't relate to your life, but, I can help ease some of your pain." Naruto whispered. He rested his cheek on top of her head. "When I was still growing up, I didn't have a family or any friends. No one liked me because I had Kyuubi in me. I was abused and was called 'Demon Child' so it was very hard to make friends. By that time, I didn't know about Kyuubi. That kind of information was kept top secret from the new generation, even from me. Only the adults knew about it because they witnessed it. My mother and father both died when the Nine-Tails fox attacked the Leaf village so I didn't have any siblings. It wasn't until I was apart of Squad Seven that I actually gained friends. Twelve years later and I made friends with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha and my sensi Kakashi Hatake. Then, I started to gain more friends, but, what I'm trying to really get at, is I know what it's like losing a brother. It's not exactly the same of how you lost your family, but in a way, it is."

Sana tilted her head up a bit to peak at him with one of her red, puffy eyes. Naruto lifted his head off of hers.

He continued, thankful that he was calming her down even if it was just a bit. "Me and Sasuke, we really hated each other. He was the cool, good looking guy with everyone liking him while I was the class clown."

"Then, how'd you become friends?" Sana asked in a soft, broken voice. Tears remained flowing out of her eyes and down her cheek.

Naruto sadly smiled as he relived his own memories. "We never officially became friends. Well, kind of. We became friends, but we annoyed each other so much, people wouldn't even give us a second thought that we were friends. That's just how we were. Secretly, without us even realizing it, we became best friends. We really didn't take notice until one day we were fighting each other to try to kill one another. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but, I will have to tell you that story a different time. It's just, I know how you feel when you say you lost your family because someone killed them. I lost my best friend, my _brother, _and it was devastating. I never met my parents, so I wouldn't know about that."

"By the sound of it, your friend, he didn't die." To affirm her guess, Naruto nodded. "So, there's always a way to get him back. There's no way to bring Cal and Caito back. They're dead." More tears slide down her face like a never ending river.

Naruto thought for a minute. Even though he was just trying to find a way to get her to stop crying, which had sort of worked, he thought of something that made him nervous to ask. Would she say yes? "Sana, how 'bout, if you want a brother, you've got one."

She shook her head and hid her face again against his chest. "I can't. My mother is already dead. She cannot have anymore kids."

Naruto chuckled. "That's not what I meany. You need someone to love you and protect you. You know, I've never had a little sister before." The arms around him tightened. "How would you like to become my Imoto-chan?" He asked, using the Japanese term of little sister.

Sana stiffened at the question. Then, without further-ado, she nodded her head and cried, "Yes. As long as you will be my Nii-sama." She said using the Japanese term of big brother. Naruto nodded and hugged her tightly against him.

"But, I need to know just one thing, Sana. I know this sounds crazy and funny at the same time, but what's your last name?"

"I-I don't know. It's been so long since I've used it. I guess, I don't really have one." She whispered.

Naruto nodded again. "Would you like one?" Sana nodded her head. "Well, then, welcome to the family, Sana Uzumaki."

XxxxX

Till next time.

Well, how's that for Sana's past life. Five years living like that. Man, I would hate that! . Please tell me how you like it!

And, I will try to get more up. It's summer now! Whooooa!


	7. The Teme and The Dobe

I'm going to stop apologizing since it's not getting us anywhere. The reason, as i just found out, that i haven't been updating this story, is because one, I'm more focused on my YGO story. That, and... i really hate saying this, is because I don't have any inspiration to keep this updated. I find more than half of y'all favoriting this story, but not all of y'all reviewing. To those who do, Thank you. So much. Y'all are really the only ones keeping this story going. I usually don't say i want reviews, that's just bad and showing i am dumb. I don't like authors repeatedly asking for reviews. And I'm not asking for them. I just... Gah, i don't know what I'm asking for. Just ignore me. . But, to **Kaigirl16**, thank you. If you hadn't sent me that pm, i don't think i would have updated. So, thank you!  
Well, enough with my boring stuff, on to the chapter! XD

I do not own Naruto, just my own characters! And also, I do not own a song that I put in here. _Holes in the Floor of Heaven_ by Steve Wariner.

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

Chapter Seven: The Teme and the Dobe

Two years have passed since that day where Sana got her own last name and a new brother. Her life changed for the better. She now had not only a brother, but three other family members. The day Naruto announced her as his sister, the sand siblings welcomed her to their family with opened arms. She now had a home, a brother and a family who loves her as she loves them.

In those two years that passed, Sana's training went sky rocketing. If she had stayed and lived in the village and took part in being a ninja for them, she would be considered a Jounin for her fast learning, skills and strength. To be exact about how much she improved, if you put her in a sparring match between Temari or Kankuro, she would kick their butts hands down. If they were together and against Sana, that would be a little close, but Sana would still be able to win. If you put her in a match against Gaara or Naruto, she would have a lot of trouble. She was still training on that, but, hadn't been able to beat them. Yet.

During her training, Naruto found out something interesting. Something he had never heard of. Kyuubi, being a powerful demon and has lived many lives, once had heard of one human having such elements. It was so powerful, but so rare, it was almost three hundred years in between the last human who had the 'power', as some ninja likes to call it. Kyuubi was shocked to have seen it, that's why at first, the nine-tails didn't like the girl. Now, Sana's element, is not only one, like how most people start out as, she has two. Hers are Solar and Moon elements. During the day, she can only use the Solar chakra and during the night, she can only use the Moon. Naruto found this a bit challenging, but, he also found it interesting. Gaara found this interesting as well and would sometimes have a sparring match with her. He liked to test out this chakra and see all what she could do. Besides Naruto, (Duh Kyuubi) and the Sand siblings, no one else knew about the rare elements. Well, unless you want to count the many dead ninja bandits she and Naruto had killed because they were terrorizing villages and doing wrong to others, than yeah.

About a month or two after Naruto had made Sana his sister, the girl started to ask a lot of questions. She started to get curious and wanted to know a lot about the blond. Not only ask about the blond, but about Kyuubi. In which, Naruto would have to summon a chibi fox out so she could answer the questions. (Naruto didn't really want to relay the answers back, knowing that fox would make him say something embarrassing). Sana would ask all kinds of questions from the simple things, like did she have any kits, to battle strategy and what would happen to the fox if she and Naruto separated for real. That question was a bit hard to answer.

"Both of us would die," Naruto had answered her in a emotionless voice. When Sana had looked up to her brother, she noticed how stone hard his face was, revealing no emotions. She knew it was not a subject to get on, so she had quickly changed it.

Since the fox and girl had been talking a lot, they began to have formed a bond of their own. Sana would look to the fox for help and advice if she wasn't in the sand to ask Temari or if it was a question Naruto had no idea how to answer. And that wasn't all the bond had done or what it was about. Since Sana had become close to the fox, besides Naruto, that was the only other human to have ever done that, Kyuubi was able to do something no one thought was possible. Naruto didn't even think the fox could do it, and that's saying something. The nine-tailed fox stored some of her chakra inside Sana so when time goes bad, like during a battle, and Sana got hurt, Kyuubi's chakra would start to heal her wounds. Kyuubi took a liking to the little girl. Besides their bond, their liking grew to a loving bond.

For the last two years, besides being a part of a family, Sana and Naruto had been traveling from place to place. They were always restless when they were in the Sand so they went out for a few months then came back for about a few weeks, then right back out. When they were out, they trained a lot. But, that wasn't the only thing. The would go to villages and see if they needed help with anything. To earn money, really. Some people had small jobs like 'can you do this for me?' and stuff like that. The ones that the two siblings were famous for, through out the countries, was getting rid of bandits and bad people. They always caught them and would either kill them (if they were really really bad) or put them in jail. That was how they earned the big bucks. But, Naruto didn't like them paying that much. Whatever they offered, he halved it. It was a good price, even if the people said that was a rip off for him. The blond just wanted to be fair. (That's also why he was famous.)

While out, Naruto also, as I said before, went around and met new friends and reunited with old. He never saw any of the Leaf Shinobi, but he didn't care. Sana got to meet the people and got to learn more about her brother from the stories they would tell her. Stuff from how the blond was like back when he was her age. The place they visited a lot was the Land of the Waves. Sana liked the family there, Tazuna the grandfather, Inari the son, and Tsunami the momma. They all took a liking to the girl, one of the reasons why they visited a lot.

As of now, the thirteen year old girl and a man of twenty-four, were walking down a dirt road, enjoying the suns' rays that hit the back of their necks. The trees along the sides of the road were too far apart to cast any shade. No one else were on the worn road except for them, even though it was around noon-ish.

Sana looked up at her sensi/brother and asked in a normal, carefree voice, "Naruto, where are we going today?" She still wore the same style of clothing and didn't look much different except for looking a bit older and grew a inch or two. Her hands were hanging at her sides and she was walking with a small bounce of impatience. A typical teenager.

The blond looked down at his student before crossing his arms behind his head. "Hm... _that, _is a good question. I was thinking about going -," He was interrupted when something warm and wet fell on his cheek. He freed one of his hands and lifted it to his cheek. His hand touched the water and then he brought his hand in from of him to just see that it was water.

At the same time, both of the siblings looked up towards the blue sky just as more rain drops came pouring down. They splashed down all around them and on them. The sky slowly started to turn a dark blue, showing that a storm was going to be on it's way really soon.

"I didn't know it was going to rain." Naruto thought aloud. "The sky didn't even have one rain cloud in it."

The rain started coming down harder and some nearby birds that were looking for food on the ground, squawked and flew off. Some squirrels and other small animals ran for cover in some bushes or trees. Soon enough, everything and everyone was soaked, and the rain was only on for a few minutes.

Sana, despite being soaked, continued to look up at the sky. The sun was now hiding itself behind the dark, scary clouds that looked frightening.

"C'mon, lets go find some shelter and hide out from this storm. I can't tell how bad it's going to get." Naruto muttered, tapping the girl on the shoulder. Sana tore her eyes from the sky and nodded.

They soon took to shelter in a small cave not far from the road. The cave went a few yards backs and was big enough to hold only a few people. It was empty with a small pile of bones that looked to small to be human. They looked to be some kind of animal bones that was from someones lunch or dinner a long time ago. In the cave, they made a small fire to help warm and dry themselves. Now, Naruto was leaning near the caves entrance, looking around the forest with his mind lost in thought, while Sana sat hear the fire, sharpening her favorite knife. The knife, was a foot and a half long with a silver blade with specks of sand melted in with it. It was stronger than any metal since it was forged out of kunai metal and sand that Gaara helped make with his chakra filled sand. It was just as strong as a normal kunai, and it would take a long to break the weapon.

Anyways she was sharpening her one of a kind weapon, in long even strokes. The crackling of the fire and the sharpening were the only sounds in the cave, along with the sounds of the rain. After a good while of silence, Sana finally broke it. "Naruto, why does it rain?"

The blond blinked his eyes and looked over to his adopted sister. He thought about the answer for a moment and smiled as he said, "Well, a long time ago, back when I was about your age, maybe younger, a lot younger, I asked one of my teachers the same question." His words lead him to his favorite sensi, Iruka who was like a older brother to him. "He told me it was because there are holes in the floor of heaven."

_One day shy of eight years old_  
_Grandma passed away_  
_I was broken hearted little boy_  
_Blowing out that birthday cake_

"Holes in heaven?" She stopped sharpening her nice and looked curiously up to her brother. She lowered her weapon and watched him turn to look at her as let his back leaned against the wall of the cave.

"Yup. Right now, Sana, you have some people up there in heaven." As if it were a question, the girl nodded her head to confirm his facts. "Well, your mom and two brothers are watching you. You know that because their tears are coming down from those holes." 

_How I cried when the sky let go_  
_With a cold and lonesome rain_  
_Momma smiled, said, "Don't be sad child_  
_Grandma's watchin' you today"_

Sana's eyes seemed to widen. "Why are they crying?"

"They miss you and wish they could be here with you now." He answered, softly smiling now.

_'Cause there's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_and her tears are pourin' down_  
_That's how you know she's watchin'_  
_Wishin' she could be here now_

That got the eleven year old gazing out of the entrance of the cave. She seemed to be starring at something no one but her could see.

The rain continued to fall and the sky was still dark. There were no lightening or thunder sounding, which was weird. It looked like it was around late afternoon almost early evening instead of the afternoon. That's how dark the sky had turned.

_And sometimes if you're lonely_  
_Just remember she can see_  
_There's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_And she's watchin' over you and me_

"Naruto," Sana softly said, watching as the man turned to look back at her than the forest. She stood up, leaving her weapon on the sandy floor and stood there looking nervous. "Is it alright if I... play in the um... rain?" She asked, fidgeting and her fingers twirled in the seams of her shirt. She looked down at her feet like she was getting into trouble. She waited for his reply. 

_Seasons come and seasons go_  
_Nothin' stays the same_  
_I grew up, fell in love_  
_Met a girl who took my name_

"I don't see why not." Naruto said.

The girl looked up and nodded her head. "Thank you!" And she ran out of the cave and into the rain. 

_Year by year we made a life_  
_In this sleepy little town_  
_I thought we'd grow old together_  
_Lord I sure do miss her now_

Naruto soon lost sight of her from the underbrush. Then he frowned.

_**'What is it kit?'**_Kyuubi's voice echoed around in his head.

"I'm curious," Was all he said before walking out into the rain and trialing after his sister.

_But there's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_And her tears are pourin' down_  
_That's how I know she's watchin'_  
_Wishin' she could be here now_

It didn't take long to find her. And when he did, he hid his chakra signature and hid behind a tree, not wanting to be spotted or to interrupt whatever Sana was doing. He crouched low and was glad that there was a bush next to the tree.

The girl was standing in a small little, grassy clearing. The rain was falling through since the trees couldn't shelter it. Sana's face was tilted up towards the sky and she stared at it.

_And sometimes when I'm lonely_  
_I remember she can see_  
_There's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_And she's watchin' over you and me_

**'**_**What's she doing?'**_Kyuubi asked, watching with curiosity. Her vessel shrugged as he also watched her with interest.

They continued to watch in a wet silence. 

_Well my little girl is 23_  
_I walk her down the aisle_  
_It's a shame her mom can't be here now_  
_To see her lovely smile_

After a few minutes of doing nothing, the blond then noticed something different. Sana began to cry. It was a bit difficult to tell, with the rain still falling, but he could still tell.

_They throw the rice, I catch her eye_  
_As the rain starts comin' down_  
_She takes my hand says, "Daddy don't be sad_  
_'Cause I know Momma's watchin' now"_

Tears silently slid down her face and mixed in with the rain drops. Her eyes were closed for a while, but then she opened them and began to speak in a soft, hoarse voice, "Mom," She said. Naruto raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I miss you too, mom. After you passed... away, he was so horrible to me! I hated him so much. But, you've been with me all this time. Always by my side, trying to comfort me, even though I didn't know." She smiled as more tears spilled over her eye lids. "Thank you. I would never have been scared if I knew you were there. The day before I was freed, it was raining. I think you were trying to tell me something that I now understand. I think you were trying to tell me that I was going to be freed. That I was going to get a new brother." She paused for a minute before a giggle erupted from her chest. "I miss you so much!"

_And there's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_And her tears are pourin' down_  
_That's how you know she's watchin'_  
_Wishin' she could be here now_

'_**Why is she crying?' **_Kyuubi asked, slightly confused. Never once, has she ever seen this sight. 

_And sometimes when I'm lonely_  
_I remember she can see_  
_yes, there's holes in the floor of Heaven_  
_And she's watchin' over you and me_

"Because, she doesn't want her mom to see her cry about being sad." Naruto explained in a soft, sad voice before he stood up and turned around. He calmly started to walk back towards the cave. He cast his eyes downward as he felt his own, hot tears slide down his already wet cheeks and mix in with the rain.

_Watchin' over you and me  
Watchin' over you and me  
Watchin' over you and me_

XxxxX

About an hour later and the rain finally let up. Everything was soaked outside and the sky lightened up to how it normally looked after it rained. A nice gray color. The air was heavily scented of the moist forest, giving it a nice smell of wet oak and pine mingled together. The small of rain also hung in the air. Naruto never mentioned anything to Sana about watching her or anything else. When she had come back twenty minutes after she had left, she sat back at the fire and continued to sharpen her knife. They then had started to talk about where they were going to be headed when the rain had let up.

After packing up all of her belongings and extinguishing the fire, she grabbed her back and stood besides her brother and looked out out the cave and once again into the forest.

"We're going to the Land of Flowers for a while. I helped a few people a year or three ago and we became good friends." Naruto answered. They exited the cave and then started on their way towards their next destination.

Sana nodded, glad that it wasn't raining anymore and that she could stretch he legs after the hour of sitting down. "What did you do for them?"

"Well, I helped them rescue their kid." Sana looked at him with curious green orbs, wanting more. He lightly chuckled. "Well, I was really just passing by the village, you know, I was just traveling around. Well, as I was walking by, I found this little boy stuck far up this tree and couldn't get down. His leg was caught in between the branches. After I got him down and asked what he was doing up there, I found out that his leg was sprained. He was running from a wolf and tripped over a log. Then he had climbed a tree as high as he could to get away from that beast.

"Well, I gave him a lift back to his home and there I was greeted by his family who were worried. They offered me a place to stay and a meal. i stayed there for about three days and got to know them. And I haven't seen the since, so I thought it would be nice to see them again." He finished his small story. "Is that cool with you?"

The girl nodded. "Since it's the land of flowers, does it smell nice there?"

"Yup. Though, the smell clung to me for a few days after I left. I kept getting compliments for all these girls when I went to different villages." He rolled his eyes and laughed.

Before he could say anything else. Kyuubi interrupted him with a mental slap of the face. '_**Hey kit, I thought you were going back home.' **_

/Why would we go home?/ He asked, sending a glare back.

'_**...' **_The demon bared its' teeth and lightly growled. '_**Gee, let me think, a certain someones birthday is coming up?' **_

The blonds eyes widen. /Shit! I forgot!/ He took a millisecond to look at the teenager beside him before looking ahead of him again. He frowned and then quickly wiped his face of those emotions just in case Sana decided to look at him.

_**'That's why I reminded you,' **_The fox sighed, then asked herself why she was stuck inside this particular human.

"Uh, actually," Naruto stopped walking, causing Sana to stop also and gaze at him. "We need to go back home."

"Why?"

The blond then smiled. "Well, Gaara wanted us to be back for a certain celebration."

"Celebration? What kind?"She asked, her eyes growing excited.

"Uh... I'm not sure. Just something really special." he didn't technically lie to her, he just wasn't telling her all the truth. Sana nodded, wondering what kind of celebration would be going on to have them both have to go home. The two then changed direction and started to head towards the Sand.

Luckily for them, they were only a few days trip from their destination. So, they decided to walk most of the way, saving their energy and chakra just in case someone wanted to attack them. Which wouldn't be the first time. While they walked, Naruto would have his student practice some of her jutsu's and taijutsu. Some of her jutsu's were like all of the other jutsu that you would recognize, but just with different names and looks. Like take the Fireball jutsu. Sana would be slightly different. The shape of it would be more as a oval with orange/yellow fire. But instead of it staying it's shape, it would stay round, but with a few lava looking liquid leaking out. (Bad description, sorry). She had different names for it, but lets not get into that yet. But since the sun was not out right now, neither was the moon, she couldn't rely on her chakra to help preform her jutsu. The only things should could do, was do the simple-est things like shadow clone jutsu. Other than that, she would do the hand signs ans call the names even though nothing would work.

"You're getting really good at your speed for your hand signs." Naruto praised her as she just got done with one of her harder jutsu signs.

The teen beamed. "Well, I should be. You make me practice everyday."

The blond smiled. "Just getting you prepared if we were ever under attack, again. You've only been training for two years. Most people -,"

"- would die with only that much experience." Sana finished in a mocking sort of way. She rolled her eyes, already have heard this speech many times over. "But that isn't a problem for me," When Naruto frowned and raised an eye brow, she continued, "I have you for a teacher who is always preparing me for anything."

'_**She's been paying attention. And, she's right; you nearly exhaust her with the constant training.' **_The fox purred.

"I only want you to be able to survive if a Akatsuki member or Orochimaru attacked us." He mumbled, talking to the both of them. He wouldn't say it, but he was really worried about her if they did get attacked by the certain people, so he trained her hard. He didn't know what Sana would be like against a full grown shinobi. That, and since they were always traveling, it was too also keep her mind busy.

Sana was quiet for a moment, watching a blue firefly fly by. "Naruto, why do the Akatsuki want to capture you?" A little distance, another dragonfly appeared, it being red. "You keep talking about them coming after you, even the other dude, Orochimaru. I don't understand." Before the blond could speak, the two fireflies met each other but they didn't do anything to each other except pass one another.

"I figured you were going to as that soon." He sighed before stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. He tilted his head back just a bit as he thought of a good way to explain it. "Well, in a way, you could really blame Kyuubi. She's the reason why they're after me." He then smirked.

'_**MY FAULT?' **_ Naruto winced but kept his smirk as the fox shrieked.

"How's it her fault? She didn't do anything!" Sana was quick to depend. She furrowed her eye brows and put her hands on her hips.

'_Yeah, I didn't do anything!' _The fox growled.

Naruto held his hands up in a surrender stance. "Okay, fine fine. She didn't exactly do anything. Just, being alive does it all."

She relaxed her stance but kept her eyebrows furrowed. "Being alive?"

"Yup. Because I have the nine-tailed fox in me, I'm one of the most powerful humans alive. If I was in the Akatsuki's grasp, then they would become invincible. They'll also separate me and Kyuubi." He explained when he got a confused look.

"So what about the other dude?" She asked.

"Orochimaru? Well, you remember when I told you he took other people's body so he could be 'immortal', right?"

She nodded. "He wanted your friend's Sasuke, but before he could take it, Sasuke escaped... or left. Something like that."

"Something among those likes." Naruto agreed. "Well, since Orochimaru lost someone powerful, he needed someone to replace him. Someone with the same power or even more powerful."

"You?"

"Yup, though it's rather disturbing to think about." A chill went up his spine just thinking about his body being taken over from that snake. "So, I'm always on the move, training. If I stay in one place for to long, then they'll have a easier way to track me down and capture me. And since your traveling with me, and my sister," he ruffled her hair, "I need to have you trained in case we see them."

Sana nodded and tried to flatted and smooth her hair down. They continued to walk. The sun was finally coming out of the clouds and settled high in the still gray open space. There was surprisingly no humidity and in its place was a nice breeze blowing.

After a while of silence, Sana grabbed her sensi's arm and clung to him like a little five year old.

Naruto glanced down at her to meet her forest green eyes starring up at him. "What's up?"

"Tell me more about your old village." She pleaded.

He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "You really like hearing about my past, huh?" He sighed when his sister nodded her head in enthusiasm. "Alright,but where did I leave off last time?"

Sana thought for a minute before replying, "You explained how you trained for three years after you and Sasuke had that fight at the Valley of the End. Then stuff happened and you were going to explain how you really brought Sasuke back."

Naruto thought for a minute and remembered. Then he started with his story.

"Well, this happened a year before I left the village, so about a good five years ago. I somehow gathered some information about the where abouts of Sasuke and went to Grandma-Tsunade so give me permission to go after him. Of course, she refused. So, I kept bothering her about it and wouldn't stop. You know, now that I think about it, I was very persist back then."

**'**_You still are.' _Both Kyuubi and Sana thought at the same time.

"After about the millionth time of asking her, she agreed. But, I had to gather a squad. I didn't want one and told her traveling more than one person would look like I was going to force him to come back. She didn't really like my disagreeing with her, but she agreed. Only one one condition. After that day, I had to stop going after him. That took all of my strength to tell her deal.

"It took a few days to find him, even though I had Kyuubi helping me. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to locate him."

'_Yeah, so don't you be saying that I'm to blame about shit.' _She growled, still upset about his earlier comment.

Naruto rolled his eyes and continued, "I found him traveling alone, later he told me he was on some mission for Orochimaru. I snuck up on him and gave him a surprise attack. We were both surprised. Sasuke that I snuck up on him without him knowing, and me sneaking up on him without him knowing. He always knows. Well, during the surprise attack, I had the advantage. We fought for maybe ten minutes before I knocked him out , giving him a nasty arm wound." Subconsciously, the blond rubbed his chest. Sana noticed, but didn't say anything.

"When we woke up, he was surprised. He thought I was going to drag him back to the village and force him to stay."

"But you didn't." Sana asked, surprised.

He shook his head. "Nah, as much as I wanted to, I didn't. When he woke up, he found me sitting next to the fire."

**Flashback:**

_Naruto was sitting next to a small fire, staring into the flames. His legs were drawn up to his chest ad his arms were wrapped around them. He rested his chin on his arms. In a way, he looked sad. He didn't talk as his raven hair friend woke up. _

_Sasuke didn't say anything either. He just sat up and looked around the tiny clearing. It was a bit small to make camp, but that would be around three or four people. For just the two of them, it was perfect. He then turned his dark eyes on his blond 'friend' and being as quietly and stealthy, his right hand moved till it came in contact with the hilt of his sword. In anyone's eyes, they wouldn't have noticed nothing. _

_"I'm not going to fight you," Naruto mumbled loud enough to be heard. He didn't look up or even move for that matter._

_Even with those words, the Uchiha didn't relax his grip. "What do you want?" He asked in a chilling voice that would frozen anyone stiff. He glared at the other and waited for his response. _

_Naruto finally looked up and met the others eyes. His blue colored eyes looked sad but it didn't betray his voice, which sounded normal, just soft, "I just want to talk."_

_Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes and looked away. His eyes scanned the surrounding area to make sure no one was going to attack them. That, and to make sure they were the only two around. "Right. You're just going to try and talk me in going back to that village. You are so naive, Naruto; it won't work. I am never going back there. I left on a mission. I already told you that."_

_"I know, but that's not what I came here to talk about."_

_That caught the young Uchiha off guard as a flicker of surprise crossed his face. But, as quickly as it came, it left and he was back to scowling. He looked back to the familiar blond. "Then what _do _you want to talk about?" He sneered. _

_Naruto shrugged before he looked away and stared off into the night sky. From where he was seated, he couldn't see the stars as well. "Don't really know, to be honest. I guess, I just wanted things to be normal again... even if it were only for a couple of minutes."_

_"Sorry to burst your bubble, dobe, but things will _never _go back to normal. Not until I kill my brother. Even after, I doubt anything that you are thinking, will come true." He ruined the quiet moment, but Naruto didn't seem to mind. _

_He ignored his last comment, and questioned, "Is that the only reason why you're staying with Orochimaru? You may be getting stronger, but if you stay there any longer, then you'll never get the chance to kill your brother."_

_"What do you know?" Sasuke spat. "You don't know anything about this! You don't know what it's like to know that your brother is out there committing a horrible crime! You don't understand why I need to be with Orochimaru to get stronger. You don't even know what it's like to have a brother!" He growled at the last words, ignoring the hurt look the blond gave him. "You don't know anything." His dark eyes turned red with anger._

_Naruto's usually happy and bright blue eyes faulted and shown with loneliness and the hurt. "I know. I never knew what it was like to have a family. So what would I know how that would feel?But, you want to know something, Sasuke? I do know what it's like to have a brother. And I know what it's like to lose one too, and it hurts. Back when we were fighting three years ago, I told you you were my best friend. You still are. I won't lose sight of that, even if you call me a fool. I still see you as my brother."_

_Before Sasuke could yell some snide insult back, a twig snapped. Both shinobi's heads perked right up, alarmed. There conversation they had just seconds ago, seemed more like hours ago as they got to their feet. _

_"Shit," Naruto whispered. Both men got into a fighting position; Sasuke with his sword out, and Naruto with his kunai. They both started in different directions, having no idea where the enemy or who ever it was was. _

_'_**It's a ambush,' **_Kyuubi warned. Her senses were on full alert as she kicked herself for not being able to sense the people approaching first. '_**Two men are going to be coming down on you, so be careful. They have many weapons. And there's at least forty surrounding.' **

_Just as he nodded his head, his kunai's were above his head and deflected a few other kunai. And the battle began. _

_He deflected a few more kunai hurled from above before pushing off the ground in one big leap. He surprised two men covered from head to toe in black clothing and gave them both a good punch in their stomachs. As they started to fall towards the earth, Naruto kneed the man on his right in the stomach and punched the other man in the nose, hearing a crunch on impact. _

_'Ooh_, that broke,' _He smirked. He watched as the two unconscious forms hit the ground in a awkward away and didn't move after that. The blond then perched himself on a tree branch, getting ready for his next move. _

_Sasuke had engaged in battle when the clearing erupted with men. At least twenty could be seen, but with the Uchiha's eyes, and sense, he knew there was another twenty surrounding them, waiting. He didn't think about that for long as three men came on him. In one simple movement of his wrist, his sword slashed the men in the stomach and left them falling to the ground dead. _

_A few more men came on to him, each of them having some kind of weapon in hand. The first man, having a sword, tried to swipe at his face, but Sasuke quickly dodged and killed the man by stabbing him in the heart. The other two, each supporting some form of hammer, tried to attack him on both sides, thinking they had the upper hand. But, little did they know who they were dealing with. Sasuke waiting for the last moment before leaping out of the way as both enemy men had swung where the Uchiha was just standing. Instead of attacking him, the swung at each other, crushing their ribs in the process. _

_"Fools," Sasuke muttered, landing on the ground a foot from the dead bodies. He didn't get much chance to breath before he was attacked again by at least five people. Each of them wanting to spill his blood. _

_The men came from all over, gathering in a circle and tried to ambush him. But, with his training, he back-flipped over some, sliced them all over in a few seconds, and started on the others, not once breaking a sweat. _

_Naruto had summoned five other clones and they each perched on the tree branch with ease. Each and every one of them had a kunai in each hand. Not a second later, they all yelled and pushed off the tree and sailed down to the ground, all taking on their own bad guy. _

_The real Naruto was battling two on one, but was having no problem. They were easy. He killed one by tossing a kunai at his throat while dodging someone throwing their weapons at him. Noticing the man was now defenseless, the blond smirked. _

_"You know, when you come to battle, always have more than one weapon." He advised the man when he didn't do anything to defend himself. To say, that man died. Naruto had no time to celebrate or even look around the clearing how many enemies were left. He had a lot more coming at him. _

_Right when he paroled someones sword from stabbing him in the throat, Naruto failed to block his left __side when he was cut on the arm by a flying Throwing Star. "Nn," He grunted, though it didn't hurt that much. The blond had just enough time to kill the man he was blocking before reaching into his pouch on his hip and brought out two kunai. In which, he threw them at the person who threw the stars. _

_Naruto didn't even have time to check if he killed him before his attention went to someone new. _

_As quick as a ninja (haha), our favorite blond swung around and crouched low as one enemy ran towards him on one side, and a different one on his other. Just like what happened to Sasuke, these men killed one another. _

_'_**I don't understand,' **_Kyuubi mused, confused by the scene. '_**These men are weak, why are they attacking? Did you do anything to them?' **_She then hissed, half joking the other half not. _

_Naruto rolled his eyes. /Of course not. Never seen them before in my life./ With that said, he was just leaped off the ground and was about to throw some new kunai's that appeared in his hand when someone collided against him. _

_A bit shocked, Naruto tried to regain his balance in the air but was unsuccessful when that same person grabbed a hold of his feet and used force to bring him down. He crashed to the earth on his back and had the breath knocked out of him. Before he could regain his breath and get to his feet, he felt something puncture his ankles and wrists, pinning him to the ground._

_"Damn it," He cursed just as something came in contact around his neck. He tried not to cry out from the pain. Kunai was what was sticking out of his wrists and ankles, causing blood to gush out around the weapons. _

_"Naruto!" Sasuke suddenly yelled from across the clearing. He was battling four people at once when he saw the blond go down. Breaking the number one rule for all ninja's, he let himself get distracted. And in those few seconds, the enemy took advantage. They disarmed him, his sword flying out of his hands and landed a few yards from him. Before Sasuke had time to react, the men suddenly seemed to get stronger and faster and were able to throw kunai at him and pinned him against the tree. Some one came from behind and held a sword at Sasuke's throat. _

_"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, trying to get out of the situation he was in. As he started to wiggle, he felt this sudden pressure around his neck, pushing downwards. _

_Suddenly, the clearing came alive with new, alive people. They walked around the bodies and stood with weapons ready. They smirked at the two ninja's._

_"Get this piece of shit off of me or I'll kill you!" Naruto threatened, his eyes narrowing. He glared at one of the nearby guys, but all they did was smirk bigger, showing the blond his yellowed teeth. _

_Sasuke stayed where he was, not moving. He looked around the little area and started to form a plan. __Even though this was a easy situation to get out of, he was waiting for the right moment. As his eyes scanned around, he was suddenly looked down at Naruto to the thing around his neck. It was something he never had seen before. There were two two-foot poles on each side of the dobe's neck. Connecting the poles was this red rubber cloth that stretched across his neck. It was lying against his skin. It looked like something a little kid could make in Arts-N-Craft, not at all threatening. _

_'So why isn't he moving?' Sasuke thought angrily. _

_No one moved a muscle as someone knew walked into the clearing. As he walked, the people in his way scurried to the sides, almost like they were scared. This new character was wearing tan colored pants and a light blue shirt with no stains or anything. Unlike his clothing, his face was covered in scars, new and old. He was in many, many battles. Hanging at his side was a sword that was still closed. He walked over to Naruto and looked down at him with a smirk. _

_"Who the hell are you?" The blond growled. "And get this damn thing off of me!" He tried to move his hands but pain was all he was getting so he had to stop moving. From the movement of his hands, the thing around his neck started to admit pressure, causing him to start panting. _

_Sasuke watched the scene and had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't yell out to his ex-comrade. 'I don't care what happens to him.' He thought angrily, He narrowed his eyes and watched the new person. From the way he was standing and how everyone had moved aside to let him through, Sasuke could tell he was the leader. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded the man. _

_The leader turned his head over to the raven-haired man and smiled with his yellowed teeth showing. "No one of importance. Well, on the other hand, since I'm about to kill you both, I guess I am important." Though, he didn't introduce himself. However, he looked back at the blond and knelt down to get a better look at him. "Hm..." He thoughtfully said and looked at him like he was some piece of meat. _

_"What do you want?" Naruto spat. More pressure came down on his throat, but he ignored it and started to thrash around, trying to break free. He didn't like just lying here, wounded. He was a ninja, for crying out loud! He shouldn't be doing this! He should have already gotten out of this and killed all of these men! Tears stung his eyes as he could barely breath. _

_"I wouldn't move, if I were you," The man advised. "The more you move, the more pressure there is. It'll only stop once the trap crushes your wind pipes and kills you." He stood back up to his full height and kept his eyes on his victim. _

_Naruto ignored the warning and growled, "Again, what... do you w-want?" _

_"To kill you, duh. Other wise you wouldn't be in that trap." He rolled his eyes like it was the simplest thing ever. His men chuckled. _

_"W-why?" _

_He shrugged. "Because I can. I don't like people so I go around killing them. That, and it's my hobby."_

_"Your s-sick!" Naruto said, thinking that this was a horrible way to die. Killed by a crazy man, great. He tried to take a big gulp of air as he became light headed. _

_"Thank you," he said, taking it as a compliment. He took his sword out of it's scabbard and held it over the blond's hearts. "So, any last words?" He grinned. _

_Naruto looked up at him, glaring. _

_"How 'bout five," A voice said from behind the man. Confused, the man turned around only to be punched right in the jaw, sending him flying to the ground. "No one, hurts the blond." Sasuke said in a deep, pissed off voice. _

_The pressure on Naruto's neck continued, even though he took the person's advice and stopped moving. The rubber as it kept pressing down on his skin started to get hot and soon it started to burn his skin. That caused him to whimper softly. As it kept getting hotter and harder to breath, little black specks appeared in his vision. His eyes became glazed over and he could almost couldn't see. His breathing slowed down as it was harder to breath._

_Just as he closed his eyes, knowing this was his last, the pain and pressure receded and he felt the kunai plucked out of him. Feeling weak, Naruto tried to get to his feet but couldn't. He was too dizzy. But, that didn't matter. A hand suddenly appeared before his eyes. _

_"Nice of you to join us," Sasuke smirked, like how he used to way back in the day. He held his hand down. _

_Naruto took the offer hand and the raven hoisted him up. Once on his feet, he looked around the clearing and noticed it was quiet. There was no living being except for them two standing. Everywhere were bodies and pools of blood. "What happened?" He croaked. His bloodied hand went to his throat, which felt raw and dry. _

_Sasuke took a step back and shrugged. He flicked his sword to rid of the blood on it before putting it back in it's scabbard. "Most of those men got away." He said in a bored voice. "But I got to kill some, including their leader." He didn't have to point to where the man laid in a broken, bloodied heap across the clearing. _

_'Man, I must have been out of it or something to not have noticed.' Naruto thought. He nodded his head and started to rub his aching neck. That contraption did more damage than he thought. It hurt like hell. Un-noticed, a pair of dark eyes were watching him. _

_"How bad is your neck?"_

_Naruto stopped. He looked over at his ex-comrade. Sasuke actually was concerned on how he was! But, if you were someone other than Naruto, you wouldn't have been able to detect the concern. It was hidden quiet well in his voice. He was just about to answer him when something flickered in the moon light at the corner of his eye. And that something was coming right towards Sasuke at a speed no one would be able to dodge. _

_"Watch out!" Naruto screamed and pushed his friend out of the way. _

_Time seemed to slow down as the Uchiha stumbled away. He looked confused but then noticed something. But, right when he noticed it, it had hit Naruto right in the shoulder, right where Sasuke's heart would have been if Naruto hadn't pushed him out of the way. it was a pole that pierced the blond and went deep through the muscle to where you could see it from the back and front. _

_Time returned to normal as Sasuke caught his falling comrade and then vanished in a puff of smoke. _

_XxxxX_

_"You idiot!" Sasuke yelled, throwing a glare over at the blond who was heavily leaning against a tree. _

_Blood stained Naruto's orange jacket and there was a hole about the size of a quarter in it. He had managed to pull the pole out, holding back a scream from the pain. To stop the bleeding, he pressed his hand against the front wound and ignored the blood that seeped through his fingers. _

_In his mind, Kyuubi was cursing him, but began to heal the wound before her vessel could bleed to death. _

_"Why did you do it?" Sasuke demanded and started to pace. The two had appeared high on a tree branch, at least twenty-five feet above the ground. He was pacing from one end of the branch, which stretched out a good distance, to the other, all the while in hearing range of the injured blond. _

_Naruto shrugged and winced as he said, "Once a comrade, always a comrade." _

_Sasuke stopped and turned around to meet his eyes. "I am not your comrade. I am your enemy! Why the hell did you save me?"_

_"You would have died... If I didn't." He mumbled. The skin knitted itself back together. Naruto rolled his shoulders back and got to his feet. The blood was still on his clothes and would be until he washed it out, but, at least all of his wounds were healed. When he stood up, he didn't meet the Uchiha's dark eyes. _

_Sasuke kept his glare. "Why does it matter if I live or die?" He lashed out. "We're not friends anymore, Naruto. You have to treat me like your enemy!"_

_"Maybe I don't want to," Naruto said, but it was to soft to be heard. In a louder voice, he looked up and meet his friend's glare with his own, sadden blue eyes that were filled with mental pain, "Didn't you want to kill Itachi? You can't do that when you're dead. And anyways," He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "S'not like anyone would care if I died."_

_The glare dropped from his face as the words hit him like a rock. But, before he could say anything, to disagree with the blond, Naruto shook his blond head. _

_"You don't need to say anything. Not like you would understand."_

_"Naruto...-,"_

_"Anyways" Naruto interrupted him, "I need to get back; Tsunade will be expecting me."_

_"I don't understand," Sasuke frowned, not acting like himself who always understood everything, "Why did you come after me?" _

_For the first time since they saw each other, the Jinjuriki host smiled. Not his usual trademark signature smile, but one that actually reached his eyes, even if it were filled with pain and sorrow. It was still a smile. "Just to talk with you. I was wanting you to come back, but, unlike the last few times, I'm not going to force you. I just wanted to talk." He shrugged his shoulders once more. "But, that's the only reason why I came. Nothing else."_

_"You know the answer is always going to be the same, dobe."_

_Naruto smiled. "Yeah, but it's still worth a try, teme." He turned away from the raven and buried one his hand deep into his pocket. With his other hand, he held it up in a wave/goodbye gesture. "I guess... see you around." He jumped down from the tree without waiting for a goodbye. _

_Sasuke wiped his face of all emotions, but on the inside, where he could freely express himself without someone knowing, it was all in chaos. Too many emotions were left loose to even try and sort them out. He watched for a minute as his ex-comrade was walking further and further away before turning around on the tree branch and took off jumping to a different tree. 'Stupid dobe,' he thought._

_XxxxX_

_'__**So you're just letting him go?'**__ Kyuubi growled in an annoyed way. '__**After everything you did, **__**you're not going to drag him back?' **_

_Naruto winced a bit. He wasn't used to her just yet, especially with all of the growling. Out loud, he told her, "If I drag him back, he'd just leave again." He was weaving his way through the trees, walking un-normally slow. He didn't feel like running and getting to the village that fast. He wanted to have a few hours to prepare himself for what Tsunade would yell at him. _

_'__**So? Three years ago, you didn't care about that. You are a stupid, arrogant human, you know that? You never think things through!'**_

_"That was a few years ago; I've changed." He mumbled. "I don't want to force him back anymore. He's my best friend..." He let his sentence linger in the air, just wanting to drop the subject now. This topic would be brought up again in a few hours and he just didn't feel like talking about it now. _

_'You're just a worthless piece of shit. You had a plan and now you're just going to drop it like last nights meal. I don't even know why I -,' _

_**"**__Will you just shut up, you damn fox? I'm tired of listening you insult me! Just drop the subject already! I knew he wasn't going to be coming back, but I still wanted to try. Just drop it!" He yelled, his temper sky rocketing. His eyes started to turn a deep shade of red and immediately went back to his normal blue. _

_The nine-tailed fox backed off. Not because she was scared, but because of the sadness she heard in her containers voice. She may be an all powerful-vicious demon, but, she did care for her kit in a way other people and demons wouldn't understand. _

_The blond walked in silence, starting to calm down. He wasn't really thinking about anything, especially about how his day had gone. A mission that failed, even though he knew it would from the very start. He stayed looking ahead, the sun continuing to come up over the horizon. Birds started to wake up and go hunting for their breakfast. A few early squirrels weer already on the forest floor, looking for nuts. _

_Minutes passed by before Kyuubi cleared her throat. In a soft, normal voice, she said, '__**You know Tsunade will be furious.' **_

_"I know."_

_'__**You told her you'd try to bring him back.'**_

_"And I was lying." The blond grunted. "I just wanted to talk to him, but she wouldn't have let me go. I'll think of something later that won't blow her top off." He ended the conversation._

_The fox twitched and watched him carefully. She was trying to figure out what was causing all of this. Her kit was always loud, overly obnoxious, cheerful. But now, he was the opposite; quiet and sulky. He never acted like this, except for certain occasions. _

_She was just about to comment on that when her head lifted up so fast. She then hissed, '__**We have a follower.'**_

_Naruto stopped walking and tensed up. He already had a kunai in his right hand as he got held it up to his chest in a defending position. "One of those gang members from before?" He looked around himself, being careful to hide his chakra signature, just in case. _

_The fox shook her head. She was just about to comment on who was coming when she stiffened up and the fur on her back stood up. A figure dropped down from the trees right behind her host and as quick as lightening, held a knife up to his throat. _

_"Who are you?" Naruto immediately growled for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He was just about to elbow the person in the gut and jump to a safe distance so he could face the intruder and ask questions, or if it came down, to fight him, when the voice stopped him. _

_"You really off guard today, dobe."_

_The knife at his throat disappeared and Naruto, not taking any precaution, front-flipped away and turned to face the raven-haired shinobi. _

_"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" He demanded, wondering why he came back. He relaxed the weapon in his hand and tilted his head just a bit to the side. _

_The Uchiha crossed his arms against his chest though he didn't meet his eyes. "I'm going back with you..." He replied, though his voice sounded uncertain and off. It was like he was still trying to decided what to do. _

_"What?" Naruto blinked, caught off guard. Maybe he miss heard him. _

_The fox blinked in surprise also. '__**That... was unexpected.' **_

_"I really don't want to go back," Sasuke started, "I have to get stronger and the only way to do that is if I stayed with Orochimaru. I have to kill my brother to avenge for my clan and if I go back with you, I won't be able to." His stance matched his voice as he slightly slouched. _

_Naruto narrowed his eyes as he asked, "So why do you want to come back?"_

_For once, he was speechless. He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth and frowned._

_"What, is the Great Sasuke Uchiha speechless?" Naruto taunted, a bit of his normal self coming back._

_"Why are you acting like this?" Sasuke glared now and met his friends eyes. "I thought you'd be happy that I want to go back now."_

_"Gee, I wonder why?" Naruto layered the sarcasm thick. "Just now, you told me you would rather stay with that snake to get stronger. If you want to get stronger, why come back to Kohona? You said so yourself, that it was holding you back!"_

_"There's more ways to become stronger! What happens if I actually _want _to come back?" He challenged. _

_"Why, so you can betray us again?" Naruto demanded. Their arguing reminded him of the way they used to argue back when they were still apart of Team 7. Back to when they did this on a daily bases. But, of course, this type of arguing was a lot worse and actually had a point to it. _

_Sasuke stopped to take a deep breath through his nose. In doing so, he started to calm down so he wouldn't lose his temper. He now looked at the blond. "Fine. Forget that I even said anything." He said in that usual cold voice. He turned around and started to walk away. _

_'__**Good going, kit.' **__Kyuubi shook her head. _

_He ignored her and held his hand up towards the retreating Uchiha. "I just don't understand any of this." He shouted in a confused voice. "Why do you suddenly want to come back after three years? And if I find out that it's because it's a mission for Orochimaru, I swear, I will kill you." His eyes turned a hint of red, meaning his threat. _

_The raven turned around so fast, Naruto blinked and he was right in front of him. They were so close, they could feel one another breath. Sasuke took Naruto by the shirt and started into his eyes,his own red, but not because of his sharigan. _

_"Do you think that I am that low? To sneak inside my old village, pretending that I want to stay and then kill you? I may have been with Orochimaru for three years, but I am _not _that low. I have never been, and never will be." He spoke with such venom in his voice, a snake would have passed out right then and there. _

_Naruto didn't move or flinch. In a voice similar to the other, he said, "Then why, do you want to come back?" This time, he was expecting a true answer. _

_The grip on his shirt loosened a bit, "The answer is still unclear to me, so I don't know. But when I know, I'll tell you. Just, something inside me told me to go back with you and to leave Orochimaru, while the other says don't go." His voice softened just a bit and he let go of his friend and took a step back. "Fighting along side you and then you taking that pole... it reminded me of old times." _

_The blond didn't say anything. He let Sasuke continue. _

_"Even though I knew you weren't going to die, just the thought made me realize something. I don't want you to die. I know I tried to kill you all those years ago, but I only had one thing in my mind; find Orochimaru to get stronger so I could kill my brother. But, I see that I am wrong. That I have been wrong all this time." He looked away and watched the sun still rise. _

_The only noise made between the two were their breathing. Other than that, nothing. _

_After several minutes of silence, Naruto sighed. "It's hard to trust you, you know." He replied truthfully. The raven looked back and met his blue eyes. "For almost four years, I wanted to get you back. Everyday it hurt me and I kept promising myself that I would die, if I could bring you back. I didn't care that you betrayed us, at first. I just wanted you back, just wanted things to return to normal. Slowly, I started to realize everything. I still wanted to get you back, but, things would have been different/ How can I trust you not to leave us again? How can I trust that if something happens, you won't betray us?"_

_"I don't know." Was what he said. "But I do know that I won't betray you, Naruto."_

_Naruto just nodded. "And everyone else? if we got into a battle or something -,"_

_"I'll know where I'll stand." He replied with a gruff. "Geez, where's that blond dobe I used to know and love? You're too... mother like." _

_The blond frowned and then rolled his blue eyes. "Well, duh, I grew up! What, did you think I'd still be the same kid as before?"_

_Sasuke gave him a rare smile, giving his answer_

_End of Flashback:_

"Well, after bickering with one another, we started our walk back to the Leaf Village." Naruto continued on with his story.

"What did Tsunade and everyone else say?" Sana asked, so caught up in the moment, with her eyes sparkling from the good story.

The blond smiled. "Well, Grandma-Tsunade was surprised that I actually had accomplished my mission and even more surprised that he came back. Like me, she didn't know whether to trust him or not so she had two ANBU nin follow after him. Ir was that, or being put under house-arrest." He grinned. "And as for everyone else, they didn't know what to do. So, for the first three months, no one really talked to him, except for me, Sakura and Kakashi. He wasn't even allow to go on missions. It was just really weird. Before he had betrayed us, everyone always talked to him, about him, _adored _him, and then it stopped. No one talked to him."

Sana frowned. "I guess that must have sucked. But, after all that time, everyone started to talk to him again, right? What about Orochimaru? What did he do?"

The blond shrugged. "No idea. Tsunade had everyone prepared in case he decided to show his face, but, we were never attacked. I still don't know if he has attacked yet."

They continued to walk and soon, the trees started to thin out. it wasn't all forest-y. The ground underneath them became sand-y as the grass started to lessen.

"Have you ever tried to go back?" She asked in a softer voice.

"No," He shook his head and turned his eyes away from the path. His voice softened and had a sad edge to it. "If I try to go back, I'd be executed. That's what being banished means. The only people I have seen was Jirayah, and that was a year after I was banished. Since then, I haven't seen anyone."

It was quiet before Sana asked in a serious but soft voice, "Do you miss them?"

He nodded and meant it. "More than you can imagine. I never told them I had left. The _Elders,"_ He said the word like it was tabooed, "told me I only had certain amount of time to leave the village before they would send a squad of ANBU after me. So, I went straight to my apartment to pack up and then left. Though, I wish I had said goodbye. I keep regretting that." His shoulders slumped just a bit.

"I wonder how they're all doing..." He mumbled to himself. His heart felt heavy with all of that sadness he feared he wouldn't be able to support it.

They fell into a light silence that lasted only a few minutes. Then, Sana broke it by asking, "How 'bout you send them a letter? Since you can't visit them, why not write them?"

Naruto turned his gaze to her. "Huh... I never thought about that before... But, I wouldn't know what to write. It's been four years."

"And five if you don't." She stated and crossed her arms in a huff. "Just write that you want to see them again so you could catch up with them. Write them to meet you some place about in the middle of our home and theirs. That way, you wouldn't be in the boundaries of the Leaf." She let her arms fall down to her sides ans smiled. She then took off running. Over her shoulder, she called back to him, "I'll meet you at home." And took the lead.

'**_You know, that isn't a bad idea,' _**Kyuubi purred. '**_I know that you've been wanting to see them again, for quiet some time. So, how 'bout you send them a letter?' _**

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know."

'**_You're afraid about what their reactions would be.' _**It wasn't a question but a clear statement. She knew her kit from inside out and could read him like a closed book.

His shoulders sagged lower and he bowed his head. He could feel tears threatening to form in his eyes. "Kind of," he admitted. "It's just, I left without saying goodbye. I regret not saying goodbye to them. But... uh..."

Kyuubi sighed. **_'After the party, send them a letter, kit. It could do you some good and help. Since you can't go to them, meet them half way.' _**Her voice clicked off so she could give him some privacy to his own thoughts.

'_Maybe...' _He thought, '_I wonder what they'll do, what their reactions could be...' _He could almost picture Sakura punching the living shit out of him and Sasuke... well, he wouldn't be to happy.

Naruto shook his head to clear it and then he rolled his shoulders back. He looked a head of himself to see no one, not even a speck in the distance. That meant Sana was way ahead of him. He took a deep, relaxing breath before he took off running to catch up with her.

XxxxX

Till next time! Whoa, that is a long chapter. Longest I've ever written! 23 pages long! I hope this has made up for my absence. If not... sorry. And, I just wanted to say, I am sorry about Sasuke. The reason for him is stupid and blah, but I just couldn't come up with anything else. Sorry! .'' Please do remember, this is my first Naruto fic.

Replying to some reviews:

**Elemental Dragon Swordman: **I liked those parts too! The shopping one was funny and I just thought of it at the spot. ^^ I really write this story in a journal and write to it everyday. And when I was writing that part, versus the original, I liked this one better. And the one about inviting her to the family, that is my personal favorite. I felt all warm inside about that 3 Thanks for reading!


	8. The Party

Well... I decided that I will be updating this story every other week. (Though, this chapter was late because I was having trouble on it for the battle scene. I suck at those )Sound good to y'all? Better than waiting a whole month, huh? And, I should probably say, some of the characters will be OOC, but that's because I want it to be like that. The characters change and I'm trying to get them to fit this story. Is that alright with y'all? They might be a bit OOC, but I still try to keep most of their personality in. Well, I know I bore y'all when all of my talking, …. But, yeah, on to the story...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of it's awesome characters. Just Sana. ^^

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

Chapter Eight: The Party

When Sana started living with Naruto and the Sand siblings, she started to open up more. She started to talk, show all sorts of feelings, and she played and joked around. A lot more than what she did when she spent those first few weeks with him when he had saved her. As she opened up more, people around the village started to recognize her and started to take a liking to her. They would always greet her and ask her questions and just pause to talk. She loved that, and would talk and say hi back. Everyone started to take a liking to her like they did to Naruto.

A few months after being introduced to the Village Hidden in the Sand, Temari started to find stuff out about the girl. And one of the things she found out, she was startled. Sana didn't know when she was born because her dad had never celebrated her birthday. From all of the abuse she had received from him, she couldn't remember certain things from her past. And that was one of them.

When Temari had told her other siblings about it, the Kazekage and the Nine-tail fox holder had decided something. They would throw her a party. They picked a nice day in July for her to be her birthday, even though they didn't really know when she was born. They went all out in decorating the hall where, if ever they needed one, the villages room. with balloons and streamers and think of. The room was huge and could hold the whole village in it at one time. They had all kinds of foods and spreads out along with cake and ice cream and cookies. When they brought Sana to back to the house, after spending the day with one of the local kids, she was beyond surprised. She whole face dropped and her mouth went to a silent O-shape. Everyone in the village was there, wishing her a happy birthday.

"I don't understand," She had said to Naruto after she recovered from her shock.

The blond just smiled and hugged her from the side. "We;re all just happy that you were born. No one really knows when you were really born, so we decided that today, July third, will be your birthday for now on. So today, you'll be twelve years old."

Now, today was once again July third, her birthday. But, of course she forgotten, just like last year; she still wasn't used to having a day all about her.

Naruto had just caught up with his sister at the entrance of their home. She was waiting patiently for him and decided to talk to one of the guards. They were in a deep conversation about the weather, not the Sand's weather since it was always the same but of other countries, he arrived.

"Chi," Naruto nodded his head to the guard in a formal, but friendly greeting.

Said name stiffened and slightly bowed as he said, "Naruto, good to have you back."

The blond smiled. "Good to be back. Hope everything's been good." He had gotten used to the fact that a lot of the shinobi would either bow or salute him, because of who he was 'related' to. At first, he was a bit awkward and would try to get them to stop, but when it appeared, after the ump-umpteenth time, he gave up on it. Now he just accepted it.

"Everything's been quiet." Chi responded and straightened back up. He offered a smile in farewell to Sana, who returned it and allowed them passage to the village. He watched the two siblings walk confidently into the village before returning to his post.

As they walked through the town, they noticed how lively it was. It seemed like everyone was out doing errands, out eating lunch with friends and/or family, or just out to enjoy the nice sun. Everyone they passed by, would look up and smile real big. They would call out, 'Welcome back!' and 'Good to see you!' and some others. A little boy about the age of three, had stopped playing a game of tag with his friends and had run over to the two and hugged Sana before running back. He even threw a toothless fun over his shoulder.

Naruto waved to a young girl who was with her mother, "Today's as busy as usual," he observed. The girl had giggled.

"Isn't it always?" A voice said, coming up from behind them. The two stopped and turned around to find one of their half siblings strolling towards him. His hands were buried in his pockets and he wore his hood down, revealing his brown hair. "'Bout time you two showed up; we were getting worried."

"Uncle Kankuro!" Sana gave him a big hug.

"Hey kiddo, how you been?" He asked, returning her hug. He face lit up like the ball of gas in the sky.

The young girl pulled back and beamed, "Okay, I guess. Where's Aunt Temari?" She asked a bit eagerly.

"Sana," Naruto frowned and scowled a bit. She always rushed to find that woman.

Kankuro waved his half brother's scowl away with his hand and answered, "She was walking towards the park, last I saw her." Sana nodded before waving and teleported away in a ball of flames, going to find Temari, and leaving the two guys alone to walk towards the house.

"Everything going okay since I left?" The blond ask casually once they began their walk. He crossed his arms behind his head as the other buried his hands in his pockets once again.

The puppet master shrugged his shoulders. "Same old stuff as always. Nothing new ever happens. Though, we did have a group of Konoha nin come here." Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what his old village would want here. "All they wanted was to trade a few herbs, A few herbs we grow here and they don't for some they grow and we don't." Naruto nodded, his interest gone. "Oh, we already got everything set up at home and were just waiting for you and Sana to come."

The blond grinned. "Well, it's a good thing Kyuubi reminded me earlier today. I forgot all about it."

The fox rolled her red eyes, no doubt listening. _**'You're welcome,'**_

Kankuro frowned. In a gruffly voice, he said, "You know Gaara wouldn't have liked that." Then, his expression brightened and he smirked, "Though, it would have been hilarious watching him kick your ass because you forgot."

The blond made a face. "He kick _my _ass? Ha, I'd like to see that!"

"Just name the time and place and I'll be there," a soft, deep voice said to their left.

The two stopped walking and looked over to where the sound was coming from. Leaning against the door frame of a cafe shop, was the Kazekage of the Sand. His eyes were closed and his arms crossed against his chest. He didn't have his gourd on his back or was wearing any of his Kazekage stuff like he was supposed to. Instead, he looked like his normal self, trying to blend in. He opened his eyes and smirked and walked over to the two.

"Gaara!" Naruto said, not at all nervous. He smiled real big and grasped the man's forearm.

"It's about time you made it back," The red head commented and they let each other go.

"Been busy."

"And you forgot," Kankuro added, getting a punch in the shoulder. "Hey, you and I both know that it's true!"

The three resumed walking the way they were going.

Without even a glance around, Gaara asked, "Where's Sana?"

His real brother shrugged, "Sent her on a wild goose chase." Naruto turned his gaze over to him and raised an eyebrow. Kankuro rolled his eyes and explained it, "Temari's really back at home touching everything up. I didn't want Sana to walk right into the surprise without us being there."

"You know she's not going to like that," Naruto said with that knowing sideways smile.

"Eh, the surprise will make up for it."

Changing the subject to one more important, Gaara asked, "So what were you doing for the past few months that you were gone?" He sideways looked at the blond.

Naruto shrugged and waved to the owner of the ramen place. The young man stopped serving long enough for a smile and wave before returning to his customer. Kimball's Ramen was the name of the place. It wasn't nearly as good as Ichiraku Ramen, but it was a good substitute. "Same old same old." He replied to the question. "Training, visiting friends, taking people out. That sort of stuff." He looked ahead of himself and smiled. "Though, Sana has been getting really good at ambush combat."

"She should be," Kankuro chuckled, "You train her non-stop. I'm surprised she hasn't fallen down exhausted yet,"

_**'See? Even they say the same thing,' **_Kyuubi mumbled, referring to the conversation he had with Sana earlier today.

"I just have to keep her ready and always on guard," he said to them both, though a little annoyed. He hated revisiting topics.

Gaara cleared his voice and said, "You're going to need to be more on guard when you leave again. I've been having reports that Orochimaru has been traveling around and making small appearances. One scout reported that he was recruiting."

"Recruiting? That doesn't sound good." Naruto frowned. After a few years, he finally heard some news about that snake, and of course it was something about recruiting. Lovely.

The three stopped when they came to the middle of the village. A dome shape building stood in front of them. It was a normal size building, not one of those huge ones. This one blended in a little better, even though this was the Kazekage's building. Instead of passing through the door to the building, they took a right and walked a ways to a different building. This one was smaller than the other and it didn't have any guards posted around it. This was their house.

"There has been rumors that Orochimaru has been forming an army, though no one knows who he is going to attack." Gaara explained. "I received a letter from the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls saying that they lost a few powerful nin to him."

"Exactly what kind of ninja are they recruiting?" Kankuro asked, sounding like he was just hearing of this. When they came to a halt right outside of their home, Kankuro knocked on the door twice, paused, and then knocked one, he opened it up and entered. The other two followed and Naruto closed the door behind them.

"Anyone he can get to. Besides the Waterfall Village, the sightings said it to be anywhere from three years of experience in fighting to twenty. Weak and strong shinobi."

The house, when you enter through the door and not the side entrance, was simple. You walked down through the hallways and the first room you come to is the living room. Simple. When they all reached the living room, they found Temari rearranging a few 'Happy Birthday' streamers. The whole room was decorated with balloons and streamers of all colors. Most of them were green, which was Sana's favorite color. All sorts of food lined the table and counters, anywhere from a simple meal of ramen to a roast chicken. On the coffee table was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and with some blue icing spelling out, 'Happy Birthday, Sana!' Around the cake were two presents with different colors of wrapping paper.

"So a army is growing with strong ninja and Orochimaru is going to attack some village," Naruto summed it up, scratching his chin. He had an idea of who that could be but kept quiet.

Temari turned around just as they came in sight. She smiled to the blond and in her own greeting, said, "'Bout time you showed up. I'm guessing you sent Sana looking for me?" She pointed her question to her older brother.

Kankuro nodded and went over to the table where the bowl of chips were. Just as he was reaching in, Temari was there and smacked his hand away.

"Wait till Sana gets here!"

The puppet master rubbed his redden hand and pulled away, "Gosh, you only had to tell me!"

The only chick crossed her arms and gave him one of those mischief smiles. "But, that's no fun." She turned around and went back to where she left the streamer crooked.

Gaara sat down on the couch, crossing his arms against his chest again. In a way, people would say that wasn't a very comfortable position to sit in, but for him, it was. His green eyes were fixed on the blond as he plopped down on the other couch and started to relax against it. His arms hung over the side of the couch and he closed his eyes.

"So what're you going to do about it?" Naruto asked.

The Kagekage shrugged though he didn't move much, "The most I can do is have everyone on their guard. I would double up the patrols, but I don't think that would do us any good right now. But there's something you should know," Naruto sighed but let him continued, though he already had a guess on what this was going to be about. "I had sent Temari on a mission two weeks ago and she and her squad ran into a group of Orochimaru's men."

Said name was done with the streamer and came over and stood behind the couch her brother was sitting in. "They asked us to join them," she rolled her eyes. "I had heard Gaara talking about Orochimaru, so I decided to play along with them and asked questions. And I do have to say, we actually gathered some information. We –," she was cut off by the door to the house opening. You could hear it, but there was a jutsu hooked up to give some warning to others if they were in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, or in their rooms.

"We'll continue this later," Gaara instructed as he and the blond stood up. They all went from serious faces to happy, calm ones as Kankuro joined them.

"Guys," Sana's voice sounded a bit annoyed as she was walking through the hallway. "Why'd you do that for? You could of just told me –,"

Right when Sana came into view, not looking too happy with her arms crossed against her chest and a pouty face, everyone, except for Gaara, 'cause he's not like that, yelled out, "SURPRISE!"

As soon as the 'magic words' were said, two balloons appeared over the young teen and exploded and confeddi came sprinkling down in a rainbow-y way. Her posture dropped and her expression changed from annoyed to surprise.

Kankuro appeared beside her and picked her up in a bear hug, "Happy birthday, Sana!"

"My birthday?" She let her brother/uncle carry her towards the others without squirming like she would have normally done. She looked around her house and noticed all of the decorations and the happy birthday signs and the cake.

Temari rolled her eyes and once her blood brother put her adopted sister down, she planted a kiss on the teens head. "You do know you have a birthday every year, right?" She laughed, good nature. She gave her a tight squeeze and released her.

Gaara cracked a small smile.

Sana smiled and bit her lip in embarrassment. "I do now,"

Naruto came out of nowhere and picked up his sister and set her on his shoulders. "C'mon, let's go play some party games!" He hollered in that usual hyper voice. He then looked over to the Kazekage and smirked, "And you're playing too, UncleGaara."

Said name glared at him and walked after the group as they spent an hour playing many different party games.

Flash Back:

_One year earlier:_

"_C'mon, Sana, nothings gonna happen," Naruto coaxed. _

"_It's easy," Kankuro added, "Just go up to him and tell him what we told you,"_

_Sana bit her bottom lip and looked uncomfortable, "I don't know..."_

_Naruto tried to reason with her as the three walked down the hall to the Kazekage's office. They passed by a few ninja who didn't pay them any attention. "I'll..." He thought, trying to think of what she would like the most, "buy you a new... outfit if you do."_

_Sana's eyes seemed to brighten up a bit and the nervous had resided a bit, "Any outfit?"_

_He frowned, thinking about how filled his wallet was now. If they went shopping, after, it would be flatter than a pancake! "Of course. And Kankuro's helping," he added. _

"_I am?" Naruto punched him in the shoulder behind Sana's back. Said name grunted from the pain and nodded, "Ah, of course I am." He sent a look towards the blond, but Naruto pretended not to notice. _

_They stopped outside the office door, which was always opened unless he was in a meeting. The two grown men hid from sight like they were spying on the person inside. Sana stood in the middle of the door way, thinking she should back out now. _

"_Go on," Kankuro encouraged and the blond held up a thumbs up. They hid just enough to where they could peek into the room and watch, but that was about it. "Just say exactly what we told you and you'll be fine."_

_She took a deep breath and walked in the room casually. _

_Naruto smirked and whispered, "I wonder what his reaction would be," his partner in scheming shrugged his shoulders. "Huh, say, ten bucks if he doesn't notice?" Kankuro tore his eyes from the room and grinned at the blond. He shook hands, knowing that Gaara would notice immediately. The bet was on. _

_Gaara was dressed in his Kazekage's outfit, the white jacket and his hat was perched on the ground next to him. He was busy doing busy work with his pen flying over the paper. He didn't even look up from his work as Sana entered and got closer. He never did unless it was someone important or the subject was important. _

"_Um..." She fidgeted, nervously. She started to mess with the loose thread on the bottom of her shirt. Trying not to stuttered, she asked, "Uncle Gaara, where's Aunt Temari?"_

_Without even glancing up or slowing his pen, the red head replied, "Did you try checking the training grounds?"_

_Sana looked over her shoulder just in time to see Kankuro hand Naruto some money before looking back and slightly bowing. "Uh, thank you, Uncle Gaara." She let out a sigh of relief and quickly teleported away in a ball of flame that seemed to heat up the small room. _

_Once she was gone did he stop writing and looked up. His expression stayed the same but his voice was uncertain, "Uncle?" And then he heard rather two loud people laughing right outside his door. _

"_He fell for it!" Naruto laughed, clutching his sides._

_Kankuro was also laughing, "Ah man, we should of had a camera with us. Especially his reaction now!" He fell from his crouching position onto the floor, having the time of his life. The things Naruto could come up with, was always the best. Even if he sometimes lost money or something. They were still the best. _

_As the two were laughing, oblivious to their surroundings, a certain someone got up from his chair and walked over to them. _

"_What's going on?" Gaara asked and crossed his arms over his chest in that stance that said, 'I now your up to something,'. _

_The two men had just enough time to get to their feet and smirk. Naruto spoke first, "Nothing, _Uncle _Gaara. Nothing at all." He turned around and started to walk away from them, all the while trying not to burst out laughing again. _

"_See you around, _Uncle _Gaara." Kankuro added, shaking his head and following the blonds lead to the outside. _

_The Kazekage just stood there, slightly annoyed and slightly confused. He lingered there for another minute before turning back around and walking over to his desk, all the while mumbling under his breath, "Great, I got a new nickname."_

_An hour later, the sun was starting to set behind the Kazekage's back as he was busy doing more work. Temari appeared, at her normal time, with a tray of tea in her hands. Like her other brothers, she too, held a smirk on her face. "Hey, ruff day?"_

_Her younger brother rolled his shoulders back and placed his pen down. He let out a silent sigh. "Same as everyday," he said. _

_His sister set the tray on the table next to his paper work and poured his a cup of herbal tea that was still steaming. "So, anything interesting happen today?" She had to keep from laughing since she heard from Naruto what had happened earlier today. She leaned against the wooden table, and looked at him. _

"_You could say that," He took a small sip of his tea. _

_Temari nodded. She was wondering how to approach the subject without making it seem odd. _

_Before she could come up with anything, her brother spoke again, "You want to know what my reaction is," He said without even needing to look up from his cup. He could read her like an open book. _

"_Well duh," She laughed, "You fell for something Naruto thought of. You _never _fall for any of that; you are always one step ahead and know everything!"_

_Gaara just shrugged and said it like it was no big deal, "She caught me off guard."_

_She snorted, "As if, no one can catch you off guard, not even a leaf that is about to touch you. You are always on guard!"_

_Temari continued to talk, letting the Kazekage enjoy his break, "You do know that no on is going to let this go, 'specially Naruto."_

"_I figured,"_

"_He's going to be talking about this to everyone in how the Great Gaara let his guard down for a thirteen year old girl."_

_Finally, the One-tails Jinjuriki looked up from his tea and cracked a small smile, "Yes, but there is something else about this I don't think you realized. He got you and Kankuro too,"_

_Temari frowned, "How so?"_

"_I'll let you figure that one on your own," and he went back to drinking his tea. _

_Wasn't even a minute later before the wind mistress groaned, "I didn't even realized," she then yelled out, "NARUTO!" and left in a hurry in search for the blond. _

_Gaara shook his head and placed his cup on the tray and went back to work. Mumbling quietly as he signed his name, he said, "And there goes Aunt Temari in search to kill the brother," he chuckled in a rare event. _

End of Flashback:

"Alright, kiddo, time to open presents!" Kankuro declared after the game of charades in which all three guys lost too. Girls against guys and the girls won by a landslide. Let's just say that Naruto should stick with fighting and scheming pranks than trying to act something out.

Naruto scooped Sana up into his arms as they all walked to the coffee table.

While they were on their way there, Temari went to the fridge and brought out the chocolate cake where it had to be cold and brought it over to the coffee table. She stuck fourteen candles into and lit it with matches Kankuro handed to her.

"Your favorite triple chocolate cake, madame!" Temari smiled.

"You remembered!" Sana beamed as the blond set her back down on her feet before the cake.

Temari chuckled, "Course I did! How could I not? The first time you had chocolate, you were bouncing off the walls for nearly two hours."

"C'mon," Kankuro said, "We have to sing before all of the candles melt!" And together, the four adults sang the birthday song. It wasn't the best, but when is it ever?

When the song ended, Naruto grinned and said, "Make a wish and blow the candles out!"

So Sana closed her eyes, smiled, and blew all the candles out in one blow. When she re-opened her forest green eyes, she giggled and answered Naruto's unspoken question, "I can't tell you! That would defeat the purpose."

The blond frowned and closed his already opened mouth, "Dang. Well, it's worth a try, right?" Then he smiled and ruffled her hair, resulting it to be messy.

"Time to cut the cake!" Kankuro said, getting pumped up for the, not double, but tripled chocolate that he was about to inhale. Like Sana, when he ate anything chocolate related, he was soon to be bouncing off the walls. He rubbed his hands together and then clapped them once, eagerer.

Temari rolled her eyes as she pulled the wax sticks off the cake and set them down on a napkin. She then brought out the knife and started to cut it, She cut a big piece for Sana and handed it to her before dishing everyone else theirs.

Out of the blue, Gaara asked in an all serious tone, "What, no ice cream?"

The other four cracked up. Naruto snorted and then doubled over laughing, Kankuro was clutching his sides, tired by all the laughing they were doing today, Temari rolled her eyes but smiled, and Sana giggled.

"In the freezer if you want some."

With the cake dished out, it was present time. They all sat down and Kankuro handed the teen a medium side box from the coffee table. The wrapping on the box was two shades of green and it was stripped. "This one's from me." He said.

Sana carefully unwrapped the box and opened it, curious on what could lie inside. When she saw what was in it, she let out a small gasp. Laying down was a small puppet that was carved with care. It was about a normal size puppet with a green dress and short red hair. It's eyes were little black dots and it was smiling.

"I can teach you the basics of controlling the strings," He said, "I remember seeing you fascinated when I had showed you my work room. So, when you had left, I spent the next few months creating this one for you."

Sana gently set the puppet and her cake down to the side, and hugged the puppet master tightly. "Thank you! It's beautiful."

Temari cleared her throat when the teen took her seat again, "Instead of buying you something, you and me are going on a shopping spree." Sana's eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. "Whenever you're ready, we'll go."

Sana nodded, already thinking about what she wanted to buy.

Before she got to carried away, Naruto handed her a small box. "And last but not least, this is from the both of us," he slung his arm around Gaara's shoulder, who in return had his arms across his chest.

Sana nodded and looked down to the small box. It didn't have any wrapping on it, since it was a wooden box. She took the lid off and peered into it's contents. A nickle-size shaped heart locket was staring back at her. Carefully, she pulled it out and was surprised to find it was as smooth as gold. Though, she could tell that it wasn't gold because it was a lighter shade and had specks of red in it.

"It's sand molded together with chakra," Gaara said.

Naruto nodded. "It has both of our chakra in it so it'll always hold." And he didn't mean Kyuubi's chakra, but his own.

"It's beautiful," Sana whispered as she turned the locket around in her fingers, loving how it barely weighed anything. She set it back right and opened it. On the inside to the left, was a tiny picture, but when you looked at it, it was like you were holding a regular size picture in you hand. The picture was a group picture of the family; Naruto, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara and Sana. They were all smiling and looked like they were having a good time, well, except for Gaara, but that's normal.

She smiled and looked to the picture on the right side. It was just like the left, the picture was tiny, but it had that effect that it was bigger and clearer. This picture was of her and Naruto, where Naruto was hugging her tightly from behind. They were both smiling for the camera.

"It's nothing big, but it's something to remember us by," Naruto smiled softly, loving the reaction his sister was giving it. Her eyes seemed to soften and and were overwhelmed by emotions.

She was speechless and felt tears form in her eyes. She closed the locket back up and looked up to them, "Thank you,"

Gaara motioned for her to go over to him and she did. She gave him the locket and turned around. She moved her hair out of the way so he could clasp it around her neck.

"There's also something else about this necklace that makes it special," she said and gently turned her around so that she could face him. "If you are ever in trouble or lost or something, fuse some of your chakra into it."

"Why?"

Naruto answered her, "Fusing your chakra within it will tell us where you are because of our own chakra within it. When your chakra is inside this locket, it comes in contact with ours and when that happens, we will know and know exactly where you are. And don't worry," he continued, "I have something similar to your necklace." He held up his right wrist and a tight bracelet clung to him, though it was small and so not that many people would be able to notice it. Heck, she never noticed it at all. The bracelet was the same color as her necklace with the same specks of different colors; red and blue. "All of our chakra is fused into this in case I ever got into trouble."

"But for us to know, you have to fuse your won chakra into it." Kankuro reminded her.

Sana thought for a moment, fingering the cool metal around her neck before noticing something, "So, why isn't your chakra mixed in also?" She asked to Kankuro and Temari.

Temari shrugged, "Gaara and Naruto have more reason for them only to have there's in there." And she left it at that.

XxxxX

Later that night, after all of the party stuff was put up, everyone was lying around, relaxing. Kankuro was on the ground with Sana, showing her how to work a puppet with the chakra strings. Temari was reading a book and was curled up on the couch. Gaara was at the table, doing more work. He would rather be home, with his family and do work, than at his empty office, doing it. Naruto was lying on the other couch, trying not to fall asleep as he watched Sana getting slightly frustrated but had a determined face to figure the stings out.

A few minutes, he let out a loud yawn and got up from the couch. He stretched his back before saying, "Well, I'm going to bed, catch y'all in the morning," He passed by the ones on the ground and headed for his room.

Everyone said their night's and Naruto disappeared around the corner.

After walking for not even a minute, he came to his door that was marked by the Leaf Village's symbol and opened the door. He closed it behind him and didn't even bothered to turn the lights on. Without even having to think about it, he walked over to his bed, took his long jacket off and his shirt and threw them over to the dresser. He stripped down to just his boxers and crawled into bed.

He took a few deep, soothing breaths and starred at the dark wall. Kyuubi was already asleep, so he didn't have anyone to talk to so that he could drift off. Instead, he only had his thoughts. And with his thoughts, lead him on to memories.

He thought about the day he was banished. He didn't like thinking about it, but with the party being today, it made him think of that one day. His own birthday was just two weeks before his banishment, and his own friends had thrown him a huge party. Everyone from the rookie twelve, to his sensi's to the hokage was there, all celebrating. Then was such a happy time.

'_What I wouldn't give to get all of that back,' _He sighed and closed his eyes. His mind fast forward to after the Elder's had banished him, and just randomly when he had gone to his apartment to gather his belongings that he was wanting to keep. From everything there, besides food, blankets and clothes, all he took was pictures. He wished he had gotten more, but his mind had been a mess, he wasn't even thinking on what to take.

Those four pictures, the ones that always makes him depressed when he looks at them, but happy at the same time. Just those four pictures to remind him of all of his good times there. All of those pictures were in the living room on a end table with a few candles always burning next to them, making it look like it was in memory of them.

The first picture was from his younger days when he was still apart of Squad Seven. They had all taken a group picture with Kakashi smiling in the background and Sakura in the middle of him and Sasuke. Of course, at that time, he and Sasuke were always annoyed of each other, so they ruined the picture by making a face at one another.

The second picture was of him and Jirayah. It was during this three years of training and they were taking a break. His pervert of a sensi was busy writing to his book under a tree and Naruto just so happened to fall asleep right against him, leaning onto his sensi's back. He never could find out who took the picture, other than they had perfect timing.

The third picture was one that he held special to his heart. He and Iruka were smiling for the camera when he was about twelve. Someone had just randomly took it for them. Iruka's arm was slung over the blond's shoulder and looked like then older man was holding on to him. They were both smiling real big.

The fourth picture was of Tsunade, Jirayah, Sakura, and him. They were all smiling for the camera on one of those random days. Just a picture for fun.

Naruto started to drift off, thinking about two pictures that weren't on the table in the living room. These pictures he kept with him everywhere he went. The first one was of his parents. Jirayah had given it to him a long time ago, and had told him the story of them. In a way, Naruto was also in the picture. His mom was pregnant with him at the time the picture was taken. He treasured this picture so much, and loved to just take it out and gaze at it.

The other picture he kept on his was of him and Sasuke. It was a few months after Naruto had retrieved his friend back to the village. Someone had took the picture right after a battle where the two friends were a bloody mess, but they were bumping fists.

With that picture in his mind, Naruto fell asleep.

XxxxX

Flash Back:

"_Sasuke, I'm sending you on a C rank mission." Tsunade said, watching the raven stand motionless before her. In the background, two ANBU were standing there, also motionless. They were Sasuke's body guards for however long Tsunade wanted. So far, he's had them for four months, and nothing bad had happened. _

_Said name nodded, waiting for the details. _

"_You will be escorting Mr. Mutou back to his village in the Trees. He's an elderly man, so I don't think you should have any problems." She continued. Before she could dismiss the Uchiha, a cloud of smoke appeared behind him. The two ANBU nin tensed, and so did Sasuke. _

"_What do you want, Baa-chan?" A familiar voice questioned, after the smoke cleared away. Naruto was standing there, hands on his hips with a scowl perched on his face. "I was in the middle of eating my third bowl at Ichiraku Ramen when I got the message." _

_Tsunade rolled her eyes and had to keep from getting too annoyed. "Well brat, how are you up for a simple mission?"_

_Naruto dropped his arms and walked over to stand next to the raven. Without even looking at him, he nodded his head in greetings and received one back. "I'm listening," he said, though he didn't really feel like it. Simple missions? Bo-ring. _

"_I'm having you team up with Sasuke on a C rank mission." She said. _

"_C rank?" Naruto scrunched his nose. _

"_Yes, brat."_

"_Psh, I don't want to go on one-,"_

"_Too bad," Tsunade cut him off, now getting annoyed. "You're going whether you want to or not. He's your responsibility, and you're going." She said. She paused, waiting for either of the two to object. _

_Naruto, for once, stayed quiet. Ever since he came back with Sasuke, Tsunade told him that he had to take care of him or there would be consequences like interrogation. Naruto didn't really want that happening, so he said he would look out for the remaining Uchiha. _

_Sasuke stayed quiet. At least he was getting a mission. Better than doing nothing at his old apartment which he took back. _

"_Good, you'll be leaving whenever you're both ready." Tsunade said, happy to hear nothing out of the blond for once. She waved her hand in dismissal and all four ninja left the office. Once they were all out, she sighed and leaned back into her chair. The Uchiha had been doing whatever mission she had given him with ease and without complaint. Soon, she thought, he would be trusted enough to be released of his ANBU guards. But, that all depends on how the mission goes. Those two don't know what they were getting themselves in. _

_XxxxX_

_After being dismissed from the Hokage, the four walked outside into the afternoon sunlight. Naruto huffed and shook his head. Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye but stayed quiet. _

"_Well, I'm going back to my apartment to gather some stuff." Naruto finally muttered. He looked to his comrade to just see him nod and continued to look ahead. "See ya," he said, and pushed off the ground in the direction of his house. _

_With his comrade staying in the Leaf village now, was something different. No one treated him the same and would always give him weird looks. No more of 'Oh, it's Sasuke, I wonder if he'll look at me,' or 'Oh, he's so cute!'. They treated him like a normal citizen, if not a little worse. Not as bad as how Naruto was treated, but more as invisible. Even with a few months passed, only a few people would talk to him; Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Tsunade, but only when she gave him missions, and Iruka. Only them. _

_A lot about him changed. He was a lot more quieter now than when he used to be, his fighting changed, and his wardrobe changed. He now wore all black, from his shoes to his shirt. He had a whole new look about him, going from a black muscle shirt with a black jacket on, to black pants, to his black ninja shoes. He still kept his pouch on his left hip and his black bag on his right thigh. On his back was the one weapon he wanted to keep; his sword. He had to get a new head band since his old was of no good. Instead of placing it on his forehead like he did years ago, he tied it to his left bicep. On his left shoulder of his jacket held his clans symbol, and on his left wrist was a black band. (Like a guys bracelet.) He still styled his hair the same way, though it was just a little outgrown now. And whenever he went out on missions, and it was needed, he still held on to his pitch black cloak. He was the creature of the night. _

_Naruto quickly packed a small backpack of things he would need on the mission like food, a few scrolls, and a few extra weapons in case. As he got ready to leave, he tightened his headband around his forehead and smiled, eager to get on with the mission._

_XxxxX_

"_My name is Mr. Mutou," An elderly man, probably in his early eighties introduced himself to Naruto and Sasuke. He didn't really have any hair on top of his head, and if he did, they were very white and not so many of them. Though, he did have a thick and long beard that went all the way down to his mid-chest. His eyes were half closed and wrinkles covered his face. Over his shoulder was a small bag that was big enough to hold a book or two. He slightly bowed._

_Sasuke returned the bow, but in a quick manner. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." His voice was low and soft._

_Naruto grinned real big and pointed to himself, "And I'm Naruto Uzumaki." _

_Mr. Mutou nodded his head and grinned a tooth-less smile. "Nice to meet you." His gaze lingered on Naruto a little longer than it should have. A spark of admiration passed through his eyes before he said, "Shall we get going? It's a day's walk from here, and I do wish to get home before I die of old age," he joked and laughed, sounding like a whistle was caught in his throat. _

_Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes at the joke as Naruto just smiled and nodded. "All right, off we go!" The blond yelled and the group of five left. _

_The two ANBU stayed quiet through the whole small conversation, probably had already met the older man. They kept their distance of seven feet behind Uchiha and kept their unmoving eyes on him. Though, you wouldn't have been able to tell, since they were both wearing masks. One a duck, and the other a beaver. _

_Mr. Mutou walked ahead of the group, since it was easier for the experienced ninja to keep an eye out for him if danger would to come. He had a cane in one hand, allowing him to walk a little faster. In the middle of the group, was Sasuke and Naruto, and in the back was the ANBU guards. _

_As they were walking, Naruto looked over to Sasuke and decided to bring up a conversation, "So, teme, getting along with your new friends?" He smirked, motioning to the guards. _

_A twitch appeared on his forehead from the name, and another twitch from the comment. "Oh yes, loads of fun." He said in that low voice of his. He kept his eyes on the road and occasionally look at the elder. _

_Naruto just had a happy aura to him as he crossed his arms behind his head. "So, what kind of 'fun' do you guys have?" _

"_Why do you want to know?"_

"_I dunno know," he shrugged, but just loved how this small talk was annoying the crap out of the raven. "Just want to." Any minute, the other should get angry and say something 'smart'. And that was exactly how it happened. _

"_Well, how about you have these two goons for the day while I go around free. Then you can see how fun it is!" Sasuke barked. He ignored the guards tense and glared over to the blond, just to find him still smiling. "What is so funny?"_

"_Nothing, nothing at all." Naruto happily said. '_It's just good to have you back,' _he thought. _

_The other snorted and his anger was gone. To keep from hitting the blond, like how he used too, he looked away and back to the scenery. He wouldn't say it, but it was nice to be back, even though the dobe was annoying. _

_XxxxX_

_During the trip there, it was quiet, from no bad guys, to their conversations. After the interesting talk between Naruto and Sasuke, it was pretty quiet. The elder would often talk about when he was younger, and Naruto would listen out of respect, and sometimes found the stories rather interesting. Sasuke listened, but stayed quiet. And, of course, the two ANBU stayed quiet. _

_They were about half way to the village of Trees when Naruto and Sasuke stopped in unison. They tensed and in a flash, a kunai was in their hands. They looked around the trees, trying to pinpoint where the intruders were coming from. _

"_Stop," Naruto ushered to the elder man who didn't notice the change. But, as soon as his words were out, the man froze on the spot and looked around._

_'**About ten.' **Kyuubi muttered, sensing the number. '**By the way of the smells, they're all Jounin, and only one of them is higher. Be on your guard.' **And she left him to think of a strategy. _

_As the two were looking around, they got in a defense position, making sure their mission was going to be safe, and having their backs face one another as they circled the road. Mr. Mutou stayed within the protection of the two ninja, wondering what was going on._

_As Naruto examined every dark place in the forest to every opening, he started to notice something. He quickly did a one-eighty and ended up with nothing, "Hey," he whispered, "where's your guards?"_

_Sasuke took the time to look but before he could insult them, he raised his hand and deflected a kunai headed straight for his eye. At the same time he did that, he heard Naruto deflect a few of his own. _

_In his mind, he summoned his sharigan and his eyes turned red with three dots in them. He looked around and only had time to see hundreds of kunai and stars being hurled at them in all direction. Quick as a cheetah, he threw his kunai just in time for it to bounce off of a others and bring those to the ground. Naruto had done the same, and tried to jump out of the way, but the sharp objects had them surrounded. _

"_If we don't think of something quick," Naruto muttered, bringing out another kunai and threw it again, "we'll be kabobs." He blocked a few of the knives aimed straight at the older man. _

_Sasuke rolled his eyes as his hand dug into his pouch and he grabbed a hold of one of his favorite weapons. He brought out a large, black hunk of metal and pulled it up to his face. In one great motion, he hurled the object away from him and watched as it unfolded into the Dark Star. The weapon flew in the air like a boomerang and hit all of the kunai. Though, not all of them. The weapon came back to it's owner, who caught it in his hand easily, before setting it off again. _

_Naruto smiled in victory as all of the knives fell to the ground. But, his victory didn't last long before he was attacked by the ninja they sensed a few minutes before. Two came upon him and started to punch him in all directions, though he kept dodging them all. With a quick scan, he couldn't identify the enemy except they were covered from head to toe in dark clothing. _

"_Who're you and what do you want?" He demanded as he punched the lights out on one of them. _

_The remaining didn't answer as he kept trying to land hits, but to no avail. _

_Quickly, Naruto turned around and scooped Mr. Mutou up into his arms and pushed off the ground. He appeared in the safety of the trees, ten feet from where they were just standing. As he set him down, he whispered, "Stay here and we'll deal with the others." Mr. Mutou could all do but nod in understanding and watch as the blond disappeared back to the battle._

_Sasuke was having the same problem, two attacking him. But, unlike his comrade, he didn't speak. Naruto would find out the answer somehow, he always did. He just worried on kicking the enemies asses before anything bad could happen. _

_When the two finished their first round, more showed up and started to attack. The two Leaf shinobi were having a bit of difficulty, but all in all, these goons were easy. _

"_Answer me!" Naruto yelled and punched one guy square in the nose, then again in the jaw. Of course he didn't get an answer as that man fell to the ground, unconscious. He was just about to yell in anger as someone appeared behind him grabbed him by the neck and started to stretch it. But, Naruto was quick to defend him self as he grabbed a kunai form his pouch and stabbed it in the man's arm. _

_That man released the blond with a hiss of pain. He glared at him before charging at him. _

_Naruto rolled his eyes and met him half way with his fist ready. _

_Sasuke couldn't even count how many people were in the battle field. Because, right when he was about to look around, after defeating his half, he sensed a stronger presence coming closer. He had just enough time to watch Naruto knock his enemy unconscious before a gust of wind came out of nowhere and hit the blond, sending him flying through the air and hit a tree or two. _

"_Naruto!" Sasuke yelled but didn't have time to check if he was alright. A another blast of wind came towards him, but he was able to dodge out of the way. When he did, he was met with another, and quickly front flipped away from it and somersaulted to land. _

"_Who's there?" He barked, grabbing the hilt of his sword and pulled it out. He crouched on the ground in defense mode, watching as a man of six foot five walk into the clearing. _

_This man was shirtless and had many scars all over his body. Smalls ones to long, deep gashes. Some were new, and some old. The man had a cloak around his shoulders that flowed down to his knees, blowing in the wind. He had lock, golden locks that framed his heart shaped head. He smiled at the raven. _

"_I am Oddi, expert on the winds," he said in one of the deepest voices Sasuke had ever heard of. _

"_Ouch," a whine distracted both skilled ninja. Naruto came to the battle scene, rubbing his head where he hit it against the tree. A few chucks of the tree could be seen in his hair and all over him. When he caught sight of the new character, he tensed. "Who are you?" He repeated the question from earlier. _

_Oddi ignored the question and looked around the clearing, noticing all of his men were easily taken out. "Well, that must have been a piece of cake for two strong shinobi, hm?" He started to walk around, checking to see if any of his men was dead. _

"_What do you want?" Naruto asked, annoyed that no one was answering him. He crossed his arms, hiding the kunai in his hand. Once again, Oddi didn't answer, resulting the annoyed blond to run at the man. When he was within distance, he threw the kunai as a distraction and balled up his fist to punch him._

_Oddi rolled his eyes at the attack and quickly moved his hand without even having to look up from his search. _

_With the hand gesture, another blast of wind appeared, hitting Naruto and throwing him back. He went head over feet in the air and crashed to the ground on his back, appearing next to his comrade. _

_Sasuke took notice of the movement and smirked. "I guess you already figured out he can control the winds," Naruto sat up and sent him one of those 'You think' looks, "But it's not him doing it."_

"_How so?" Naruto frowned, looking back to the man, noticing that he wasn't paying them any attention. He looked like he was really into finding if they had killed any of his men. "It looks like he's doing it."_

"_It is his attack, and he's doing it, but this is all for show. He's risking a clone to be out in the battle field, testing us." He said, thanks to his sharigan. "He's just doing a fancy trick with his hand to make it look like he's the one doing it, when really, the real him is hiding in the trees behind him."_

_Naruto nodded, understanding. Man, it would have took them forever to have figured that out on their own if they were still younger. But, this is what happens when you train as hard as they did. He smirked along with the raven and got to his feet. "So take out the real him; sounds easy enough." He crossed his hands together and summoned up two clones. _

_By the time Naruto had formed a Rasangan in the palm of his hand, Oddi looked up with a hint of amusement. _

"_We know your weakness," the blond smirked and poofing both of the clones away, started to run towards the man. Sasuke stayed where he was, making sure nothing weird came out as a surprise attack. _

"_Oh do you?" A voice said right behind Sasuke. _

_Sasuke spun on his heal to a standing position, but didn't have any time to block the gust of wind shot at him. "Damn it!" He cursed as he came crashing into Naruto. They both went down and luckily for them, the Rasangan went out like someone blowing a candle out. _

"_What the-," Naruto muttered as both he and Sasuke got up. They stood back to back, each facing a different man. He stared at the clone as Sasuke stared at the real man. "How'd he get over there so fast?" Naruto looked over his shoulder to find the man there already. _

"_He's playing tricks on us," Sasuke muttered, glaring. He tilted his head to the left where another Oddi appeared and again to their right, where yet another appeared. _

"_Shadow clones," Naruto agreed. "But, which one is the real one?" He looked at all of them, trying to figure it all out. But, that didn't last very long when a shadow appeared and was shielding them from the sun. They both looked up just in time to dodge out of the way as a blast of wind made a crater in the ground where they were just standing. _

_They both rolled in different directions. As Sasuke was getting to his feet, he gripped his sword and ran at one of the clones. He could hear that Naruto did the same, so he worked on slashing the man in the stomach and chest. _

_Right when the clone poofed away, he was on to his next and within three seconds, that one was gone too. Going on to his third, he felt something change and paused on his attack. Knowing better, he back flipped three times back to the center of the road and had his sword down at his side. _

"_Naruto!" He yelled, seeing the familiar blond being held captured by a clone. The man had a good grip on Naruto's hair and had a knife against his throat. Even from a few yards away, Sasuke could see the knife was already digging into his neck and blood was leaking out. _

"_L-let go!" Naruto growled and tried to get away. But, that only made the weapon at his throat deepen, causing him to whimper softly and stop. _

"_Tsk tsk," a voice sounded. Sasuke looked over to his right and saw, for what he could tell was the real Oddi, come into view with a familiar someone in his arms. Mr. Mutou was being led onto the battle ground with a knife at his throat. _

"_Mr. Mutou!" Naruto managed to yell, despite the position he was in. _

"_S-sorry, I stayed where you told me too," the older man apologized, like this was somehow his fault. _

_Oddi led the elder over to where Sasuke could watch from across the clearing. He stopped when he was three yards from his clone and Naruto and turned to look at Sasuke. "I am giving you a choice, Mr. Uchiha," he said and smirked._

_Said name narrowed his red eyes, "What kind of choice would that be?" he barked. He took a second to look to his comrade and nod his head a bit before turning back to the man. The nod, meaning, 'Trust me on this,' and Naruto had nodded back in the 'Okay' sign._

"_One that is quiet simple." He said. "The choice is, you can save your friend here," he nodded to Naruto, "and let me kill this old man here, or save the old man and continue your mission and let your friend die. Your choice." He twirled the knife around Mr. Mutou's throat, like he knew what the answer would be. _

_Sasuke couldn't help but smile and close his eyes. "Really? That is one stupid choice," he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Choose between my friend or my mission,... hm... oh yeah, that _is _a hard one," he added in a sarcastic tone. He reopened his eyes and looked to the blond giant. _

_Oddi tried to figure out what that meant as he furrowed his brow. But just as he did that, the Uchiha disappeared from spot and reappeared next to him. Before he had anytime to stab the elder in the throat, Sasuke swung his sword to cut off his arms. _

_He wasn't going to let that happen, so Oddi released the elder and saved his arms with just a second to spare. He stumbled back and nodded to his clone to kill the other, but his eyes widen as his the prisoner had just killed the clone with the same kunai that was just embedded in his neck. _

"_What?" He stared, wondering how this had happened. He backed a few steps away, just as Naruto and Sasuke started at him with some kind of amused hint in their eyes. _

"_So," Naruto smirked, crossing his arms against his chest, "How'd we do?"_

_Sasuke slipped his sword back into it's cover and, after making sure his mission man was alright, smirked at the man._

_At first, Oddi tried to play it off with 'What do you mean' look, but when he took notice that wasn't going to work, that they figured it out, he smiled. All hint of confusion was gone and in place was approved, "Pretty good." He said. All around the clearing, many popping noises were heard as all of the 'unconscious' men disappeared. "It's really up to the hokage, though," he added. _

_Naruto nodded. _

"_How'd you find out?" He asked, and looked over to Sasuke, knowing he was the master mind since Naruto already knew this was coming, just he didn't know when. _

_Sasuke smirked and crossed his arms. "From the beginning. If you're going to attack like that, you might want to try to hid all of the chakra signatures so one skilled wouldn't recognize that they were all the same."_

_Oddi nodded. He looked between the two before saying, "You may proceed with your mission." And he was gone. _

_Naruto looked over to Sasuke who looked at him. Without saying anything, Naruto held up his fist and Sasuke bumped it with his own, just how they used too._

_XxxxX_

"_So...?" Tsunade demanded. _

"_The Uchiha boy knew from the beginning, but he made sure to keep Mr. Mutou safe. As for Uzumaki, I say he kept him safe also." Oddi reported with a bow. "They seem to trust one another to know what they are doing. At the end, they both seemed to be on the same page, even if Uzumaki knew what was going on."_

_Tsunade nodded. This was what she was wanting to hear; those two trusting each other to get a mission done. "Alright, you may go." She dismissed the man from her sight, knowing that he was going to see Shizuna for his payment before he would leave. _

_She turned around in her seat and started out of the window to overlook the village. "Since he is at least relying on Naruto, I might just release him of his guards," she muttered to herself. _

End of Flashback:

Naruto turned on to his back as he continued to sleep. A smile was on his face as hot liquid started to leak from his eyes and slide down his cheeks. "Guys," he mumbled, his dreams turning to his friends back at the Leaf and how much he missed them.

XxxxX

Till next time! ^^ And yeah, the Flashback of Sasuke and Naruto... I rate it a two out of five. Lol. I could have done better, but whatever.

Oh, I have an **important question! **I am going to be changing the name of this story, so listen up. I'm putting a Poll on my profile so please, please choose on of the answers. I just don't like the name of my story right now, so I want to change it. If you don't like the names I have thought of, then you can PM me and send your request. Sounds good? So please, choose one! The name of the story is in your hands!

Reviews:

**Elemental Dragon Swordman:** Thank you! Everyone always comes up with great ideas... Sorry it wasn't the best. But, yeah.. Glad you thought it was okay though! And you might be seeing Naruto reunite with his friends in a few chapters. Like five, maybe. XD Hehe, but thanks for reading! Means a lot.


	9. A Normal Life At Home

This is just some short clips on what they do when they're back at home. Just something interesting. A filer chapter to say.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

'_Thinking'_

_'__**Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

Chapter Nine: A Normal Life At Home

The next day, the sun was barely rising over the houses when Sana blinked her sleepy eyes opened. She yawned and stretched out like a cat. She then laid in her bed, thinking about what she should do today. '_If I train today, it'll one, give me something to do, and two, Naruto would be happy.' _She smiled to herself. She loved making her older brother happy and proud. Now that she knew what she could do today, she got up out of bed and went over to her dresser at the other side of her small room. She took out a pair of clean black shorts and a light green tank-top, and her undergarments, and decided to go take a shower.

It had been a few days since she last had a full shower. Whenever she was on the road, she would sometimes stop by a river at night and wash her face and arms and legs to get rid of the dirt. But now, it felt nice with the warm water running through her scalp and down her body.

With her long hair, it took a little longer to shower than she would have liked. '_Maybe I should get a haircut...' _She thought when she turned the water off and squeezed the excess water out of her brown hair. But, then she quickly disregarded that thought, feeling a little offended for thinking such a thought. '_I like my hair a little too much... And besides, I won't ever go back to short hair. Too many bad memories.' _She shuddered at the thought of her father and when she was a little girl, her father had grabbed her by her shoulder length hair and cut it to where her hair was just below her ears. Rather short for a girl.

She dried herself off quickly and dressed in her attire. She toweled her hair off as much as she could before finding a brush in the cabinet of the bathroom and quickly brushed all of the tangles out. Once it was nice and smooth, still wet, she smiled at her own reflection. Before leaving, she grabbed her pj's and left to drop them off in her room.

The living room was quiet when she entered it. Everyone else was still asleep and would be for another two or three hours. Sana was an early riser and always has been. The only one that was up, but of course at work, was Gaara, but that was because he never slept. (I think he still has the tailed-beast in him)

Sana quickly downed a bowl of cereal, and stole a small piece of her birthday cake, and headed out.

The perfect place to train was Gaara' personal training field. When you were Kagekage, you had your own private field and you had to have some kind of relationship with the leader of the village to used it. Since he was her Uncle, she was granted permission. Lucky for her, the field was not a long walk from the house, so it only took her a few minutes.

The private field was about as big as four football fields smashed together. It had a few trees clumped together, giving one part of the field a forest-y look. Another part of the field, was all grass and had a few scattered trees. The other side, that took up a lot of space, was a sandy hallow. Since they lived in the desert, they had to get used to fighting in it. At the entrance of the area, was a small stand with a few different buttons. One of the village's nin had made up a great training method if you were by yourself. All you had to do was press any of the five buttons, and then you could start training.

How that worked, was which ever button you choose, like take Moving Targets for example, puppets, curtsey of Kankuro, would pop up out of the ground, from the trees, and somehow from the sky, and would attack you. All you had to do, was well, attack it back. The longer you trained, the harder the puppets got, until you called 'Enough'. Then, it'll all go away. The longest she had ever gone was a mere three hours, but after that, she was beyond exhausted. Naruto was close to meeting the record of seven hours and thirty-one minutes, who was won by none other than Gaara. He had made it to seven hours and twenty minutes. Eleven more minutes!

Sana rolled her shoulders back and walked over to the post. She took a minute to decided what she wanted to do; Moving Targets where all she had to do was use Tai-jutsu or All, where she could use everything she knew. Knowing that she needed to challenge herself, she chose all, one button that you didn't know what to expect.

She walked to the center of the clearing and took a deep, calming breath. She pulled a kunai out of her pouch and took to a fighting stance. She closed her eyes and counted to ten silently in her head. After she reached her destined number, she waited for a minute, keeping her eyes closed, and could picture the clearing around her as if she had her eyes opened. She could hear the soft wind blowing and the tree's rustling it's leaves. She could hear a few birds chirping and a rabbit hopping through the small forest, somehow surviving on its own. Then, she heard just what she was listening for.

A kunai came out of nowhere and was about to his the small of her back when she deflected it with her own weapon, without the need to open her eyes. Naruto had always taught her that it was good to train with your eyes closed so that you had a sixth sense for hearing things that normal humans couldn't hear. It took her many months to master this technique, and she still wasn't good at it, but she was getting better.

A few more knives came all around her, all aiming for a spot hard to block. But, Sana managed to deflect every one of them.

This took all of ten seconds and when she opened her eyes, she was met by an army of puppets, all coming to attack her. She smiled to herself and got ready.

Her hand as fast as a cheetah, dug into her pouch on her left hip and pulled out a Dark star. She opened it to it's fullest and spun around, giving it some speed before releasing it with a great force. She didn't even stop to see how many the weapon was taking out as she did a few hand signs and whispered, "**Taiyo Kirisame**," (Solar Drizzle)

It was like a rain was gently falling from the heavens, only, instead of rain, it was fire. Chakra Fire. The puppets in front of her, getting ready to take a swing at her with swords, were set on fire from the Drizzle. Sana back-flipped and did another hand sign, taking out at least ten more puppets.

She back-flipped and landed on a puppet and destroyed it with her raw powerful fist in two seconds flat and went onto the next enemy.

She continued her task and when the carved wood was about to surround her, she did another set of hand signs and yelled, **"Taiyo no sutoraiki, yogan no torunedo!"** (Solar Strike, tornado of lava) On the ground right below the enemies, the ground started to quake, though that didn't stop them from continuing their task. A second later,the ground tore opened and the Sun's rays seemed to spill into it. With the light being shown in, a flicker of orange escaped through the crack, and then another. Before you could even blink, more started to jump out and then started to form a tall, wide twister, all made from burning lava.

Puppets closest to the tornado were instantly reduced to ash and the ones close to those were caught on fire. Sana gave a small nod before turning her attention else where, seeing that that part of the clearing was being taken care of since the tornado would start moving around the clearing.

For the next several minutes, she fought using only Taijutsu. Whenever she thought it was needed, she used some ninjutsu. Like, take now for instant. The puppets had started to thin out very easily, thanks to the Solar tornado, so now coming was the next level of puppets. Just now, she was fighting level two, now she was onto level four. Level four puppets were a lot harder to defeat and they could do more.

"**Taiyo no kage!" **(Solar Shadow) As soon as she was done with the last hand sign, the sun started to get darken as clouds started to cover it. From behind the clouds, a ray of sunlight shot downwards, plummeting the ground. Instead of it being the golden color it was supposed to be, it was a dark, black color. The sound of crackling lightning reached her ears as the beam started to move in a straight line, obliterating puppets along with leaving a path behind it.

Sana punched and kicked a nearby puppet in the stomach and heard the wood split as she was on to her next set.

The sun was high in the sky by the time the whole clearing was filled with broken puppets. She had completed her training for now and was left dripping with sweat. She wiped some salty water off of her forehead and leaned back.

"Wow, I sure worked up an appetite!" She grinned as her stomach rumbled rather loudly. She shaded her eyes from the sun and looked around for no apparent reason. The landscape was empty, just like how it was when she had got here. She shrugged and turned around, wondering if she should go home and eat or go somewhere to take a breather and get some tea.

As she was walking out of the training area, she didn't slow her pace down as she sensed something and right when it was about to hit her in the shoulder, she teleported from the spot and reappeared a few steps from where she was just standing, a kunai in hand.

"Who's there?" She called, but she had a wild guess. She didn't lower her stance as the person came into view, carefully watching her.

"You've been here for a few hours," Gaara commented, as calm as ever. On his back was his gourd, which was something different since he only wore it whenever he went out of the village, the village was under attack, or he was training.

"Yup," Sana smiled, though still not letting her stance go. "Thought it would be nice to train for a while."

Gaara nodded and without a warning, the sand under Sana's feet formed so that it was sinking her. Quick sand. Be stood there, watching with a calm expression, not even worried that he was about to kill his sibling.

But, quick as Sana was, she had formed a substitution jutsu right before the clone was swallowed whole. She stood on a tree, many yards from where she was just standing, smiling.

Gaara didn't even have to turn around as his form turned to sand and the wind started to blow it away. Sana bit her lip, hating it when he did that when he would train with her. She looked around, and when she heard a rustle to her right, threw two kunai at the noise, only to find that it was the leaves of a tree falling. Though, she didn't relax. She brought out another kunai and then front-flipped off the tree, landing on her feet with ease.

She backed up against the tree, still having no idea where the Kazekage had disappeared too.

As her eyes slowly scanned the ground for any slight movement, she narrowed her eyes. "Ah, c'mon! You're taking too long!" She whined like a normal fourteen year old. And right when she let her guard down a little to talk, Gaara was behind her, kunai at her throat.

"You need to remember to be as patient. If you are not, then it'll be a quick death," he advised.

Sana nodded. Even though their training seemed over with, since Gaara flung the kunai away and lowered his hands from around her, Sana smirked and with the kunai in her hand, swung around and was about to aim for her Uncles throat when Gaara caught her wrist. He held on tight and with his other hand, shoved her away and watched as she had lost her footing in the air, but she quickly recovered and found her footing on the grassy floor. Right when her foot couched down, she ran at him with speed that normal ninja wouldn't want to deal with. She started to throw punches and kicks and whenever she could, kunai at him.

Gaara deflected everything thrown at him, without the need of his sand. He barely had to raise a hand.

Growing a bit frustrated that she hadn't even managed a hit, Sana back-flipped twice away from him and started to do hand signs. "**Taiyo F****urea!"** (Solar Flare) It was like the Sun had started to glow brighter and brighter, blinding everything in sight except for the user of the jutsu.

The One-tails jinchuriki managed to shift the sand to shield his eyes even before the jutsu was completed. Sana frowned at this, but tried to use this as her advantage, however she was going to do it.

'_I love sparring with him, but it's so unfair! He thinks of everything before I'm even done with it!' _She thought and as she was running towards him, did another hand sign, this one being one she used earlier; the Solar Shadow.

Gaara had to use more sand to protect himself from this particular jutsu. He had seen this one give three-degree burns on people who were not careful. This was not a jutsu to let off very easily, and this was one of her stronger ones. He uncrossed his arms and in a fast motion, brought up the sand just in time to block the rays.

As soon as he brought the sand down, he was close to get a face full of fist, but his hand protected him just as quickly. He heard Sana curse as he took a step back and the sand lowered. "Getting a bit better, I see." He quietly praised.

Sana agreed with a new set of hand signs. **"****Fenikkusufurawa!"** (Phoenix Flower) A big ball of flame, giving the shape of a beautiful bird filled the sky. Gaara looked up, distracted by the new jutsu, though his sand was on edge, wondering what to do. As the Phoenix came flying down, almost like a meteor from space, Sana had teleported from her spot, giving attention to Gaara.

Before Gaara knew it, his attention left the bird still falling down towards him as his sand blocked an attack from the back, then the left, and the side. Sana was trying to get a score in before her jutsu came tumbling down.

As fast as he could, Gaara turned his attention back towards the sky, already feeling it's heat off of the Phoenix. He heard the screech from the fire ball just as it poofed away, almost like the fire was being extinguished by water. He was a bit confused and then returned his attention back to his partner, wondering if it all were a distraction.

Sana smirked, knowing that her Uncle wouldn't say it, but that he was wondering what was going to happen. "New jutsu and this time, I made it up. Enjoy!" She smiled an innocent smile before teleporting away from the area just in time for Gaara to notice something had changed.

The sand formed an rock-solid shield around him as the jutsu reappeared, but this time, instead of the Phoenix, it took the form of a lily. If you knew Sana very well, you would know the lily was her favorite, a tiger lily. They were about the size of a baseball and were everywhere, all coming at him with an amazing speed. Right when they were close enough, they exploded on impact. The whole training field went up like the Fourth of July.

Sana was all the way across the clearing, taking a breather. She was sitting down, her arms out behind her as she panted and watched the scene take place. "I... must have at least... gotten _some _damage..." She panted. She was beginning to run thin on her chakra and was wanting to at least get a scratch on Gaara to show that she did it.

"Sorry, better try next time," a soft voice sounded by her ear, nearly sending the girl jumping a foot into the air.

Sana took to standing, starring in amazement that Gaara was standing behind her, a little ruffled form the thing that just took place. And then she saw it, lighting her face up like the sun was shining down upon her and her only. The slightest of scratch, about an inch, maybe half an inch long, was on his cheek. It didn't bleed, but it wasn't healing up either.

"No... I did it..." Sana breathed. Gaara raised an eyebrow before feeling the tiny sting on his cheek. "I finally did it!" She suddenly squealed and threw herself at him, hugging him tight. "I finally, after all this time, managed to get a scratch on you! I knew this jutsu would work!"

Gaara sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh geez," he mumbled.

XxxxX

The two sat down at the little ramen shop, Kimball's Ramen, to have a little celebration that Sana finally managed to make a scratch on the un-scratch-able Gaara. Never before, through all of her sparring matches had she managed to do any harm to him. He was one of the toughest opponents she's faced. Naruto would some times get a few scratches, but she could never tell if he did that on purpose or what. It was still a mystery for her to figure out.

They ordered a normal bowel of ramen and talked as they waited for it to come out. Well, Sana did the most talking.

"Finally, I finally got you!" She exclaimed again, getting an amused look form the ramen shop owner. Sana's eyes were still bright and cheery. Her wounds were already gone, thanks to the chakra stored inside of her from Kyuubi and she was feeling her chakra slowly coming back. "I can't wait to tell Naruto that my jutsu worked! He kept telling me that it wouldn't, but YES!"

Gaara smiled to her happiness. "So, how did you come up with that jutsu?" He asked out of curiosity. He didn't know all of her jutsu's but was slowly learning them.

Sana smiled, "Well, after me and Naruto visited Princess Yukie in the Land of Snow, I heard all about how Naruto was able to use rainbow chakra. We even went to the battle field for old memories and such. When I caught sight of all the flowers and how beautiful they were, I was thinking of some kind of flower jutsu. And since Tiger lilies have always been my favorite, that's the image I had for it." She smiled, "Well, it took a while for me to come up with a unique jutsu I could call my own and how to make the jutsu work and make it up.

"It took a month to practice it until I got it down, but that was only that. I knew I was missing something to complete it." The owner of the shop handed them their bowls of ramen. They both opened their chopsticks as she continued her explanation. "Well, I came up with the phoenix as we were traveling. I was actually talking with Kyuubi about random stuff and I happened to get on the topic of fire." She paused and took a bite of the noodles. After she chewed and swallowed, wiping her mouth on a napkin, she said, "Kyuubi mentioned something about a bird. I got curious and we had just started to talk about it from there."

Gaara nodded. "How long did this whole process take?"

"Over three months," Sana sagged her shoulders like in disappointment. But, then her mood enlightened, "But, they really paid off. I was having a bit trouble with the phoenix turning out in a perfect image. Naruto showed me a few tricks like how he learned how to do his Rasengan." She took another bite.

After a good meal of ramen, the two continued to sit at the little restaurant/cafe thing and just talk. Gaara had already paid for the meal but they liked the spot to just talk.

"Have you thought of any new ones of late?" He asked.

Sana shook her head. "I have given some thought, but none of them would work out." She shrugged, "And if I do think of any, it'll be something to do with the moon. I'm still pretty weak with it since we always fight during the day. But, I'm still trying to think of something."

Gaara nodded. He was just about to suggest talking to Temari about giving an idea about a jutsu when a boy came running up to them. He was one of the well-known locals who was a gentleman. He had black hair that was kept short with his blue eyes. He had freckles, but was slowly growing out of them wince he was fifteen.

"Kazekage," he formally bowed to Gaara when he reached them. Gaara nodded his head in greeting. The teen turned to Sana and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Sana," he gave a slight bow to her since she was related to Gaara.

"Hey, Tristan," Sana smiled real big. "How have you been?" They were great friends and every time Sana was in the village, she would hang out with him and some of the other kids when she wasn't training or with family.

Tristan gave a nervous smile, "Uh, g-good. How 'bout you?"

"Awesome! I finally succeeded today with the spar!"

Tristan apparently knew what she was talking about and looked over to the Kazekage and saw the small scratch. His nervousness slightly faded as he smiled, "Sweet! Congrats, Sana!" Then he turned back to her and the nervousness came back. He didn't look her straight in the eye as he said, "So uh, S-Sana... I know it was your birthday yesterday, and I never got anytime to wish you a happy birthday..." he swallowed and then looked her straight in the eye. "So, do you wanna have dinner with me as my present to you?"

Gaara raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

Sana looked astound, but also amused. She looked over to Gaara in silent permission. He nodded and she looked back. "Alright!"

Tristan's eye brightened up in excitement and he said, "I'll be by your house at seven!" He leaned forward and peaked her cheek in a goodbye and bowed to Gaara before running back the way he had came.

Sana's face became a light shade of pink and then her face melted.

Gaara, along with the owner of the shop, were amused by the affection.

XxxxX

"So, I wanna full back story of your life, parents, and grandparents, I wanna know where you plan on taking her, for how long and everything you will be doing," Naruto said, as he sat on the couch, with Kankuro, sharpening his already sharp knives. Kankuro was making sure his puppets were all good and making sure all of the secret, hidden weapons and poison were showing.

Tristan gulped as he sat on the chair right across from them, un-noticeably messing with the couch. It was five after seven and he was waiting for Sana to finish getting ready so he could take her out to dinner. "W-well, I decided that we're g-going to that new restaurant that op-opened near Kimball's Ramen. Uh... maybe a few hours at most?" A bead of sweat trickled down his temple from his nervousness. "And I was thinking that we'd uh... have ice cream or something after we e-eat."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow, "What about your back story?" Out of pure amusement, he swished around the poison in the bottle before setting it in the puppet's rightful place.

Tristan's eyes widened a bit. "W-well, uh... My mom is a medic ninja and works in the hospital. My dad uh... is a Chunin and works as a t-teacher. I don't know much about my grandparents because they both died a long time a-ago." He didn't know what to think was scarier, fighting a Tailed Beast, or just making small talk with these two.

Naruto nodded and continued sharpening his knife. "What makes you so special to date my sister?"

"W-well, I don't know about me b-being special... but, I find Sana to be fun and out-going. She's smart, beautiful, and is talented."

Naruto heard Sana and Temari exiting Sana's room with his sharp hearing and smiled at the boy. "Good answer. But, just so you know, if you hurt Sana,"

"By words or by physical," Kankuro added, looking up with a serious look.

"We will hunt you down and take you out." Naruto said and pointed his knife in the direction of the teenager. "No thoughts about it. You better take care of her or else." At that moment, Sana entered the room with Temari behind her. Naruto lowered his knife before they could see and changed his voice of one that was friendly, and not at all threatening. "And that's what we expect from you." He and Kankuro stood up from the couch all smiling.

Tristan felt his face pale from the threat. It wasn't like he was going to do anything like that, but, oi.

"Tristan?" Sana asked, snapping him out of his state of shock.

He looked up and his eyes almost bulged out of his head. He quickly stood up and was amazed. Instead of Sana wearing her normal ninja outfit, which was all he ever saw her in, she was wearing a cute sun dress. It was plain with spaghetti straps and went down to her knees. No ruffles or frilly like normal girls would like on their dress. Her's was a light yellow color, the color of dandelions and had small white flowers that blended in nicely with the dress. She was wearing black high heels -about an inch off the ground- and she had a small blue purse slung over her shoulder. Her hair was slightly curled and was hanging down. A single white clip held her bangs out of her face.

"Wow..." He breathed, speechless by the girl in front of him. She still looked the same, but she also didn't. One thing he was happy about, her make-up was light and natural to where he couldn't really tell that she was wearing any.

Sana bit her lip and smiled, "Do I look okay?" She asked, a bit nervous.

All he could do was nod his head.

"You look beautiful," Temari said and hugged her tight.

Naruto nodded, "If I weren't your brother, I wouldn't have known who you were. You look amazing, Sana," when Sana finished her hug with her sister, she hugged her brother. He kissed her on the forehead before he released her.

Kankuro nodded and was too, speechless.

Sana smiled, her cheeks slightly pink. She walked over to Tristan who snapped back into character and smiled at her. He lightly kissed her cheek in greeting and slipped his hand into hers.

"Have fun you two," Kankuro said. "And don't forget," he looked at Tristan who's eyes panicked a bit, "She better be back before nine-thirty."

Tristan nodded. "Alright." He looked at his date and asked, "You ready?"

Sana was about to nod when Temari suddenly said, "Wait!" They looked at her to see her grabbing something from the kitchen, "Pictures!" She said and turned the electronic and came back. She smiled real big as she got the two situated for a picture. "Now, smile!" Both teens smiled as they stood next to each other. Temari clicked the button and then said, "Don't move! We need one more!" She sounded so excited that she ended up taking three more.

"Can we leave please?" Sana begged, tired of smiling. She felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't like she was going to prom or getting married.

"Oh, right, sorry," Temari quickly turned the camera off and set it aside. "Have fun you two!"

As the two were leaving, Naruto called out, "And don't forget, Tristan, about that little talk we had!" He didn't get to see what kind of reaction the boy had, but knew he must have froze up a bit.

Once they were outside and the door was closed, Sana looked curiously to her date, "What kind of talk did you have?"

Tristan didn't answer right away as he felt a little nervous, "Uh... nothing important." He said. He started to lead her to the little restaurant.

XxxxX

"Naruto, do you think you could lead a mission today?" Gaara asked without looking up from a report that was just sent in. He had called Naruto up here just a few minutes ago, and the shinobi instantly appeared without a delay. "All of the squad leaders are already on missions or just got back and there's one squad that needs to get out. The mission is only a C-rank mission and shouldn't take to long. A day, two at most?"

The blond smiled as he leaned against the window ledge behind the Kazekage. "Sure, s'not like I have anything better to do. What kind of mission?"

"Someone reported a missing dog in the small village of Kono. The dog was sighted a few times but no one was able to catch it. They fear it will run out into the desert and die if not attended to immediately."

"Alright, sounds easy enough. What team?"

"Team Two. They should be waiting by the entrance of the Sand in a few minutes." Gaara said. He finally looked up and handed his brother a scroll containing all of the information he needed like who the dog belonged to and what the dog's name was.

Naruto took the scroll and slipped it into his back pouch. "Team two, eh? Haven't been on a mission with them for a while. Well, see you around." And he poofed away with a wave.

He appeared near the entrance and spotted the three leaning against the wall, looking bored out of their minds. One of them was rather small, the smallest of the bunch. He had snow white hair that was pulled back into a pony tail and was wearing the custom Sand wardrobe; tan shirt and pants with a vest on. His head band was tied onto his right leg and he had a beanie covering his hair. His bangs hung into his eyes, shielding his blue orbs from the sunlight and from other people. He was leaning on the wall, his arms across his chest in a patient wait. His name was Chris Lor. Personality, rather quiet and didn't like to talk. He was smart and good with paper bombs and other bombs.

Sitting on the ground next to him was Jenni Heraloc. She was a pretty blond that was cut at her ears. Though, her bangs were well past her eyes. She was rather pale even though she lived in the desert and had blue eyes. She was wearing something similar to her teammate but her head band was tied around her neck. Holding her hair back and out of her eyes was a clip with the symbol of the Sand. Her personality was loud and talkative. She was very friendly and could be rather mean if she wanted to.

And last but not least, was the other female on the team. She was pacing in front of the two like she always did, even if they had just got there. Pacing helped her think. Her name was Lyla Locca. She had brown hair that went to her shoulders, but she always had it tired up into a low pony tail. She wore a simple black shirt with a vest over it and tan pants. She never really cared about her appearances so she never tired. Her hand band was around her forehead and that was about it. Her personality was smart and good at stratizing. She was quiet and nice.

Together, these three made Team Two. There leader was Rena Kimiko. Naruto didn't really know a lot about her except that she was beautiful and strong. Almost like Tsunade.

"Hello!" Naruto poofed next to the group, scaring Jenni into a standing position.

"Oh, my goodness!" She exclaimed. "Why do you always have to do that, Naruto-sensi?" She frowned upon him with her arms crossed.

"Oh, will you quiet down?" Lyla rolled her eyes and stopped from pacing.

Naruto smiled. "Sorry, no can do, Jenni." He looked among the squad and clapped his hands together, "So, are we ready to do this mission or what?" He looked over to Chris who opened his eyes, not that he could see anyways, and pushed off from the wall. He nodded his head and kept quiet.

Jenni stuck her tongue at her female team mate before looking at Naruto and nodded, "Oh, sure. Chasing down dogs is so worth it." Her voice was full of sarcasm.

Lyla shook her head, "It is, it helps us move up into the world and then we can get higher missions." She nodded to Naruto to confirm that she was also ready to go.

"Well, I wish we could get something higher than a C-rank mission for once! I'm tired of there being no action!"

They left the village and started at a slow pace of running. Well, slow for Naruto who was used to running a lot faster. He listened to the Genin argue back and forth about one being tired of all the D-rank and C-rank missions. They reminded him of how he acted when he and his team, Team Seven always got low missions.

"You know, sometimes it's better to have low ranks in missions," Naruto thoughtfully said when there was a brief pause. The two females looked at him, waiting for an explanation. "When you get higher and higher up the line, you'll never know who could die on the mission."

Jenni bit her lip, never considering that option. "But still, I want to be on a mission that's higher!"

The eldest of the group smiled. "Have I ever told you about the time when me and my old squad went on a mission that was supposed to be a C-rank when it was really a B or A-rank?" They looked at him, even Chris, with a shocked expression. "I take that as a no." He smiled and then began his tale on his escorting mission to the Land of Waves.

XxxxX

Naruto waited with the owner of the pet outside her home. She was sitting on the porch with redden eyes as she cried. "I don't know what could have made the dog run away!" She balled. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed away her tears. "I've always been good to him and loved him and gave him the good food!"

He listened to her. He had been for the last twenty minutes. "It's alright, ma'am. My squad will find them before you know it," '_Or so I hope...' _He thought with a sigh. He heard Kyuubi chuckle but kept quiet. "But, maybe it's something else. A lot of dog's like to run away –,"

"Not him!" The lady cut in and shook her head. "This is the first time he has ever done it!"

"Well, maybe it could be of something that's different." Naruto suggested, keeping his patience.

The lady paused in her crying and thought about it. "Well... I haven't really changed anything."

"Nothing that you can remember?"

She thought again. "Well... I have cut down taking him on walks because my mother has gotten sick." She looked up at him with sad eyes, "Do you think that's the reason why?"

"Could be," Naruto shrugged. "Maybe he missed the longer walks and wanted to say something about it. So, he ran away."

After about ten more minutes of talking, Naruto heard his squad walking over to them. On a leash and in Lyla's hand was a small, all brown dog who looked happily as he waged his tail.

"Kilo!" The lady yelled and rushed to her feet. No sooner were Team Two within a few yards from the house, the lady ran at them and hugged the dog tightly. "I'm so sorry, boy! I will take you on longer walks!" The dog licked her cheek happily.

Lyla let the leash go and looked over to Naruto with that _can-we-leave _look. Naruto nodded and after talking with the lady, was paid the normal amount, and the group was off, back to the village.

"Man, that was a short mission." Jenni commented. "Why is it always shorter with you, Naruto-sensi, than it is with our normal sensi?"

He shrugged, "I dunno. I guess Gaara gives me the easy ones because he knows I don't like to be gone that long?" He shrugged. Naruto didn't really care much if he had a long mission or a short one. As long as he got one, that's all that mattered. He had grown up wince he was at the Leaf.

"Let's get back home," Naruto suggested and they continued on.

XxxxX

Till next time! Man, I ended it horribly. It feels like it's missing something... Eh, oh well. Hope y'all enjoyed something simple and fun. Kind of like what happens to the two when they're back home, yeah? ^^ And, if you were wondering, Sana's date went well. I don't know how to add that... so yeah.

Happy that I finally showed some of Sana's power? I hoped it was interesting and didn't suck. I was trying to come up with some amazing ones, but that's rather hard. :/ The Solar Shadow is in curtsy of my sister. :)

And this chapter reminded my, on the date, of the song, Cleaning this gun by Rodney Adkins! Country song! 3

**Elemental Dragon Swordman:** Thank you very much! ^^ The birthday party took a little while to plan out; trying to make it fun and heart warming at the same time. :)


	10. Heading Out

Well, I finally got time to get this chapter up! Sorry it took so freackin' long!

I wanted to say that I'm going to be putting this story on hold for a long time. I have no time to write to it because of school and Drivers Ed and I'm more focused on my Yu-Gi-Oh! Story… :/ It's just been hard. But, I will say that I will still try and update when I find time, but so you won't freak out, I'm just going to say I'm putting it on hold. Does that make sense? If it doesn't just tell me and I'll be more than happy to explain better.

Before you get on to reading, I wanted to give a reminded about the pole on my profile. I really want to change the names, guys. I don't like the name right now… I don't even know why I had an option of keeping it the same. :/ I will be changing it… So please, please pick something!

Now on to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of its characters!

'_Thinking'_

_'__**Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

Chapter Ten: On The Road Again

It has been a month since Sana turned fourteen and so much had happened. Naruto had first, decided to stay at home so that they could have a nice break and not have to kill anyone, but he wasn't thinking it would last a whole month. He was thinking more like two weeks. But, when Tristan had asked Sana out on a real date, Sana had begged him to stay and so they stayed. The two have been dating for the past month. And while they did that, Naruto would go out on missions to help his adopted village. He went from two day missions to being out at one week at a time; he never stayed still and just relax. Temari had scowled him many times, but the blond would just shrug and keep doing it.

Whenever Sana wasn't with Tristan, which was rare, she was with Temari. They would go shopping and hang out at home. For a birthday present, Temari took her shopping and they had a blast. Sana had bought a whole new outfit and shoes, which was the same thing as the one she was wearing now, except she had gotten a purple tank-top instead of a black one. As something extra, she had gotten a new bomb, one that Naruto had refused to buy her; the stink bomb. The reason was because he wanted her to get used to the other bombs and become experts with them so she would use the bomb on accident and make the place smell unpleasant. But, now, she finally got some!

As of now, Naruto was sitting at one of the tables in Kimball's Ramen with Gaara. They both had a cup of tea in their hands with a tea pot in the middle of them as they faced each other in a relaxed way.

"You sure you want to head out?" Gaara asked calmly.

Naruto took a small sip of his tea and nodded. "Yeah. There's still many villages I need to visit and I'm going to try to poke around for information regarding Orochimaru and his plans. It's been a month so I think I am going to get a good lead somewhere. You know all of the small villages; they somehow always have the better, newer news."

Gaara accepted the information with a slight nod and released his cup to fold his hands and prop his elbows up to rest his chin on them. "What about the Leaf?" he asked like he would if it was something like' how was your day?'.

"What about them?" He asked in a well guarded voice like the subject was hard for him to talk about. But, despite his voice, he looked like normal, like this wasn't a topic he didn't really want to talk about.

The Kazekage let out a small sigh, "I know you are going to tell them, just promise me that you will be careful. You know what'll happen if they catch you on their land."

"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes and his voice returned back to normal. He slightly leaned back in his chair and looked out the window of the shop. "If anything, I'll probably just send them a letter about what's going on."

'_**Speaking of sending a letter,' **_Kyuubi's voice entered his mind, '_**Weren't you going to already send one so that you could talk to them outside of the Leaf Village?' **_

Mentally, the blond shrugged and didn't reply.

"Are you going to bring Sana with you?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered and looked back. He took a sip of his tea and said, "She'd be mad if I didn't." His half brother didn't even have to say the name since they were both on the same page. He shrugged, "I think it'll be good for her; she's been spending everyday with him."

Gaara nodded, "True. Though, be prepared to have you ear chewed off when you two leave." Naruto raised an eyebrow because one, he was curious on why, and two, because Gaara just said something that you wouldn't expect him to say. "She knows what happened when you and Kankuro tormented Tristan with all of the questions."

Naruto gave a nervous grin. '_How'd she find out?' _Instead, he asked, "So why haven't I heard her say anything about it yet?"

"You've been gone on missions."

"Right…" Thank god. "Well, at least if she tries anything, we can spar. And get some more training in."

"Speaking of that," Gaara looked curious, "how many times has she used that attack?"

Sana's ultimate attack is what he's talking about. Since she had an extraordinary attack, Naruto wanted her to have an awesome, kick-ass jutsu so he's been helping her create one. Well, they already created it, but there were a few problems with it. The attack was proven a little too far advance for her because every time she used it, it would zap mostly all of her chakra and would knock her out for a couple of days. But, every time they practiced it, -which wasn't a lot- they were able to knock either a few minutes or hours off of being unconscious. Out of all, they've only managed one full day. Naruto didn't exactly banned her from using the attack, only simply told her that she could use it when in dire need or it was her last resort.

"Just twice since last time though they were both for training." He stated with a smile. "She's getting better though. She managed to knock being unconscious down to one day. When we first started out, she was out for a couple, three at most? She's really been improving." He had a smudged smile displayed on his face like any proud parent, or sibling in this case, would be.

After a couple more minutes of talking about the game plan, both males got up.

"I told Sana to wait for me at the entrance at two," Naruto said as they both looked to the clock hung on the wall. The clock was now just hitting two-thirty. '_Hehehe, I guess I'm turning out to be like Kakashi.' _He thought, remembering how the certain shinobi was always late.

"I'll walk you there," the Kazekage remarked.

So together, the two Jinjuriki walked together through town. They didn't necessary talk, but just walked in the comforting silence, respecting each other's presence. By the time they reached the entrance of the Sand, three people were already there, waiting.

"There you two are!" Temari frowned as her siblings walked up to the group. "You're thirty minutes late!"

Naruto couldn't help but grin, "Sorry, wasn't paying attention to the time. But, I'm here now." He glanced over at his traveling companion who was patiently waiting. She had one arm hanging down and the other holding on to her arm behind her. Her bag was sitting on the ground, next to her. Besides her clothes being new and her tank-top changing from black to purple, she looked the same. But, now, she had on the heart shaped locket he and Gaara had given to her. From what he had heard from Temari, she wouldn't take it off.

"So, you packed everything you needed, kiddo?" Kankuro asked.

Sana nodded her head and bent down to pick her bag up. "Yup. All I need is in here," she slung the bag over her shoulder and strapped the one-strap across her chest. The bag rested against her back part of her hip, kind of making it look like a long purse.

Naruto also nodded, knowing that the question was also pointed at him. Unlike Sana, he didn't have a noticeable bag. He had a small pack on his thigh. It was the size of a normal pouch that couldn't really hold that much. All it held was money, another first aid kit, a folded picture of his loved ones, and other stuff.

"Well, I guess we'll see you whenever," Kankuro said and grasped the blonde's arm in a farewell. Then he knelt down just a bit until Sana was taller and hugged her tight. "Don't let him out of your sight," he 'whispered' to her in a serious tone. "If you do, you will never imagine what kind of trouble he'll be in."

She giggled as Naruto rolled his eyes.

Next was Temari. "Come home sooner, guys. You're always gone for way to long."

"No promises," Naruto grinned. "Just depends where we are and what we're doing at the time. But, we'll try to be back, I just know how boring the village is without me." He sarcastically said, getting a hit from his adopted sister.

"Just promise you won't go on a month streak again."

Sana hugged her sister and said, "I'll make sure he won't." Temari could only wink at her, knowing that they'd be back real soon since she was wanting to see a certain fourteen year old boy.

Next up was Gaara in which Naruto grasped his forearm like he did Kankuro. "See you later, man."

The red head nodded. "Remember, we'll come if you need help." He always said this whenever they left and so far, it wasn't needed. Then he hugged Sana tightly and whispered to her, "Be careful."

"I will," she hugged him back before letting go.

"Well, see you guys later!" The blond said and waved to them as the two headed out of the shelter of their home and out into the sandy, hot desert.

XxxxX

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!" **Another Sana appeared next to the original with her hands still held up in the sign. She was a complete clone.

"Good," Naruto praised with a nod of his head. They were walking along a road and to pass the time, the blond would say a jutsu and Sana would have to do it. "There's an animal at four o'clock," he said out of the blue, wondering what his apprentice would do.

The clone vanished in a ball of fire and the original Sana pulled a kunai from her pouch on her hip in a fast motion. She vanished from the spot, leaving the image of fire behind.

'_**She's getting even better at teleportation.' **_Kyuubi observed.

/You mean she's already good./ He corrected her. /But yeah, her chakra signature disappeared altogether this time. Even though she's a born teleporter, she didn't even know about her chakra so she didn't know to use it, she's mastering it pretty well./

The fox chuckled, '_**Isn't her signature already supposed to disappear?' **_

Before he could reply to that, his apprentice in training appeared beside him, holding a furry, calm bunny in her arms. She was petting it in calm, smooth strokes.

"You know we aren't keeping it," Naruto said.

"Aww," she petted it once more before releasing the animal on the ground and watched it hop away. Returning her attention to her brother, she asked, "So, where are we going?"

"I was thinking about going to the village Hidden in the Rocks. I heard they were having problems with this group of bandits that keeps showing up and robbing them of their belongings. They also have killed a few villagers that wouldn't cooperate with them."

Sana nodded in understanding. She hated hearing about all of the bandits doing these horrible crimes and felt honored to help rid the village of those people. She didn't like to kill people, but when things like this happened, she reminded herself that it was either killing the innocent or just rid the ones who committed the crime.

"It's about two and a half day's walk from here," Naruto said. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

"Hm…" the brunette thought for a while, trying to think of something interesting to talk about. Then, she raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, "Since you were always gone, I never got to talk to about something I found out!"

Naruto tilted his head, "And what would that be?"

"Why did you give Tristan such a hard time on my birthday?" He mentally groaned, wondering who told her. And as if she was reading his mind, she said, "I found out from Tristan the first time he wanted to kiss me. He was scared." She raised an eyebrow. "And why on earth were you cleaning and sharpening your weapons? That made him even more nervous!"

"Hey, it wasn't only me who-," Naruto tried to defend himself but was only cut off.

"Oh, I already chewed him out." Sana said. "I can't believe you did that!"

For the rest of the trip to the Village Hidden in the Rock, Naruto was getting his ear chewed out by his fourteen year old sister.

XxxxX

Till next time!

Don't forget to vote please!


	11. The Successful Mission that Went Wrong

Okay, I told y'all I was going to be changing the title, so I did. I'm sorry, but I really needed it changed, I hated the first title. :/ So yeah. Don't take my judgement on name switching out on the story. So, please enjoy this chapter.****

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of its characters! 

'_Thinking'_

_'__**Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

Chapter 10: The Successful Mission That Went Wrong

"_In line of sight, waiting for orders." _A voice said over the ear piece.

Naruto clicked on his mic and replied, "Good. Wait for my signal."

He was hiding behind a tree, crouching low on the ground where he couldn't be seen from view unless you were on his side of the tree watching him. A few trees away from where he was crouching, Sana was ready to pounce on a party of bandits heading their way with a kunai in her fist. Her back was up against the trunk of the tree as she waited.

Kyuubi looked around, using her host's eyes. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary which was good, but you can never be to careful. She reported to her kit and he nodded.

The two had arrived at the Village Hidden in the Rocks a day and a half ago and barely even a few steps into the village, the people had pleaded them to help get rid of the bandits that started to terrorize them. Naruto had been there once before when they were having trouble with a pack of wild dogs, so they knew he was someone to count on. They paid him in advance and it was a good pay of money; not too much but not too little. With his payment, he swore he would get rid of them and that was what he and Sana were waiting for.

The sun was just starting to climb into the sky and the blond let out a quiet yawn. Man, he hated morning missions, especially when he had to wake up before the sun was even visible. Why bandits loved choosing to attack people in the mornings was beyond him. Why couldn't they just attack during the day?

Naruto could feel his legs start to ache underneath him as he sat on them. He really wanted to stretch them out, especially since yesterday, he had been walking for a long period of time. With all of this walking and running he did, he didn't really like to stay in one place for to long.

In the distance, the sound of horses galloping was heard.

Naruto felt his muscles tense as he clicked his mic on and said, "Get ready."

When the first horse came into sight, the blond counted to six before springing from his hiding spot and flung himself at one of the men that was at the back of the group. Having a lot of applied force behind his fist, he punched the unfortunate guy in the jaw as hard as he could. The man fell from his horse before he even knew what had hit him.

"Agh!" He yelled in agony as his back hit the ground.

Naruto smirked before he disappeared back to his spot behind the tree in less than fifteen seconds.

The guy in the lead pulled on the reigns of his horse to stop, as did everyone else in group. Everyone turned back to see their fallen comrade on the ground, hissing in pain as he cupped his redden jaw.

"Roger, what happened?" He yelled to his soldier.

The man named Roger stood up and still held his jaw as he slowly rubbed it, "Somethin' just came out from the trees and attacked me!" He said, his voice gruffly.

All of the men in the group started to reach for the weapon from where ever they had it; in a pouch on their horses saddle, or on their backs. They glared into the trees, searching for any signs of movements as Roger also reached for his weapon.

"It must be another one of those villagers," Some one yelled among the group. "Probably tryin' to scare us."

"Yeah," another man shouted, "I think we should teach them a lesson." He taunted and readied his sword in one hand hand his other tightened around the reins.

Naruto rolled his blue eyes, trying to keep himself from jumping out and yelling at them, like how he always did when he was a lot younger. He had changed tremendously from then, knowing how to hide himself and be quiet. That has saved his life many, many times. He scanned the group of men and estimated around thirty bandits altogether.

**'**_**There's only thirty. Please let me out! I haven't been out in ages.' **_Kyuubi whined in a very not-Kyuubi like manner. She was restless and started to pace around in her cage.

/Sorry, I only bring you out when it's a important battle./ Naruto replied back to his fox, getting ready to launch another attack. The bandits all started to get off their horses with a crazy look to them.

_**'Just this once,' **_Kyuubi tried, '_**I promise that I won't eat anyone!'**_She tried to coax him into letting her out.

/Kyuubi, I can't. If I were allowed, to, I would. Maybe next time./ He hardly paid her any attention, used to this conversation.

In response, he received a growl.

"Come on out, villager," one of the men cooed, raising his sword without attracting any attention. "We won't hurt you... much." The edges of his lips curled into a nasty smile and a round of laughter was heard behind him.

Naruto grabbed a fallen stick that laid beside him and preformed the replacement jutsu on it, transforming it into a squirrel. He released it and let it run out of his shelter and out into the open where it dashed across the path to the other side.

The men watched it go, so focused on the scrawny animal that they were unaware of a certain girl appearing down from her perch in the trees and landed a few feet from the lead bandit.

Naruto watched silently as Sana waited for the group to see her just standing there, emotionless with her arms across her chest.

Finally, one did noticed. "Hey you," he yelled even though she was just a few feet away. His yell caught the attentions of his comrades and they all turned to face her.

A lot of the guys, even though they were probably tripped her age, started to look her up and down. One even called out, "Hey, babe, what're you doing out here all by yourself? Need a man to escort you back to where ever?"

Sana smirked, "An escort to kick your ass? I think I'll take it."

Naruto grinned, thinking, _'That's my girl.' _

All of the guys bellowed in laughter. The one who had been in the lead earlier said, "Really? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but any ass that will be kick will be yours. And maybe a little hurt too," he said with a seductive voice and had a glint of lust in his eyes as he too, looked her up and down. "Be a good girl and give up. Travel with us. We'll treat you really well." A few other guys among the group had a look of lust in their eyes too.

Naruto grinded his teeth together and felt a growl wanting to escape his throat. '_I am going to kill them for saying that!'_ He swore and clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to keep his anger down for now.

The teenage girl made a look of disgust of her face and she rolled her eyes, "Only in your nightmares, and even then, I'll never go with you." She said loud enough for everyone to hear.

A round of 'oo' were heard from the insult but the same man growled, "Why you," and raised his sword in an attacking position. He started running at her as she simply stood her ground, watching with without doing anything to protect herself.

'Mu_st be frozen in fear,' _He thought to himself as he grinned, thinking this was one easy kill.

Before he could even reach a foot within distance with her, something flew from the trees and caught his eye. He had just enough time to stop and feel something sharp pierced his sword hand.

"Agh!" He cried out in pain. He gripped his wounded hand and noticed a black, double bladed knife embedded in his flesh, causing blood to flow out of him.

"Boss!" A few of the others cried out when they noticed their leader in pain.

"You know, it's not very nice to attack a lady," a different voice rang out.

The man, along with his men, started to look around the clearing, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. In a pissed voice, the leader shouted, "Who said that?"

A shadow fell upon the group but before they could even look up, something fell down from the trees that seemed to cover the roads like a shelter. The object fell in the middle of the group. When the guys looked down, confused, they noticed that it was a person, standing straight up. They noticed it was a man with blond hair with his tips red as blood. His eyes were a startling bright blue. 

"All you should know," the person said, "is that we're here to kick your ass from terrorizing those villagers."

The bandits could tell from the sound of the person's voice that it was a male they were dealing with. One of the closest bandits laughed and said, "Did those villagers pay you to get 'rid' of us? Well, we'll double, no, triple whatever they paid you if you work for us this once to get rid of _them._"

"Hm..." The figure thought, "I don't believe I'm the kind of man who turns my backs on people who have done nothing wrong. I swore to them I would help them out, and that I'll do." He suddenly reached out and punched the man who had spoken in the jaw before back flipping to get away from all out of everyone's reach as they started to throw punches.

When he landed safely away, he heard his partner engaging in battle.

"I don't know who you are," a different man said to Naruto, "but you are gonna die! No one messes with me or my boys!" He started to run towards the blond who just chuckled and readied himself for the bandit.

Right as Naruto punched the man in the stomach with a force that sent him flying several feet backwards, he received a cut on his forearm. "I can see why you don't know me since this is our first meeting. But, when you are on your way to hell, always remember that Naruto Uzumaki sent you there." He yelled after him.

The man knocked into a tree and past out from the blow. One of his buddies that was charging Naruto, stopped his attack and gaped at him, "N-Naruto?" He stuttered, fear flashing in his mud color eyes. "You mean the Naruto that goes around helping villages out with whatever trouble they have? The Naruto that could kill a whole slew of bandits without managing a single cut on his arm?" Apparently, he had been listening to rumors or other peoples stories a lot.

"The one and only," he grinned and in one quick motion, he appeared in the man's face and grabbed a kunai from his pouch on his hip and stabbed the man in the stomach, stabbing him in the heart, killing him instantly. Whispering in his face, "Glad you know who I am." And he pushed off the ground to jump in the air in which he grabbed many more kunai from his pouch and sprayed them to the ground. They all hit their targets, killing them all.

_'__**Behind you, at seven o'clock.' **_Kyuubi informed.

Naruto landed on his feet and ducked down, just as an ax came hurling towards him where his head would have been. Instead of getting his head cut off, the blade of the weapon barely grazed the red tips of his hair. He frowned and, being quick since they were in a battle, he stuck out his leg and swung around, knocking his attacker off of his feet when he was about to attack him again.

When the bandit hit the ground, Naruto took the ax that landed a few feet away and drove it into the man's neck before going onto the next man, not thinking twice about the men he was killing.

Having been going on missions like these, Naruto grew accustomed to killing when there was a need for it. It always depended on what the person did, what kind of crimes they did, and if they killed anyone. There was only a few times Naruto let someone he was supposed to kill go, because he could see it in that person's eyes that they could change. And did they change? Yes, yes they did. He even saw them a couple of times, living among other people, living normal lives. So, most of the time, he never thought anything about when he killed because it was necessary.

A few yards away, Sana was punching one guy in the face as hard as she could until she heard a crunch from his nose. She spun away from the guy with a broken nose and stabbed someone else in the throat with a knife she pulled from her pouch.

Like Naruto, she didn't have a problem with killing, unless she knew they were guilty. She would only kill if they deserved it, in which every bandit, in her case, deserved it. Every time she came in contact with one, she immediately thought of her father and showed no emotions. Naruto once had to stop her from killing someone because he had been a slave of a group of bandits. He had done nothing wrong, and she was about to kill him. She had cried for days after that, each time Naruto comforting her as much as he could by holding her. 

They had started out with thirty or so guys. There had been way more guys, especially when there was only two of them so they were practically surrounded. But, between two strong ninja who knew what they were doing against multiple people who barely even had enough fighting experience, the odds were clear on who was going to win. In less than ten minutes, the numbers had lessened by a little over half.

"Hey, girly," a man said to Sana as he swung his foot long sword and managed to cut her leg. "If I were you, I would stop fighting and just surrender."

Sana rolled her eyes as she started to form hand signs, "If I were you, I'd take my own advice or you'll really get hurt." She paused for a second to see if he was going to surrender. When he didn't, she preformed her last sign.

**"Fire Style, Fire Paw jutsu."**Fire appeared like magic out of nowhere and surrounded her feet. Like wolf tracks, the paws started to make their way towards the enemy, each time they moved, the imprints left the ground sizzling with small flames.

The man started stumbling backwards, cursing, "What the hell is that?" He was an average man so he didn't know anything about chakra. But, no matter how far he distanced himself, the fire kept chasing him. He wasn't able to go any further when he tripped over a large tree root and fell to his butt. Right when he touched down, the fire engulfed him into flames and he let out an ear piercing scream.

The whole technique took no more than twenty seconds and during that time, Sana had turned away, already knowing the man's fate, and returned to the battle.

XxxxX

Naruto was kicking some serious butt, he didn't even realize he hadn't been using any chakra, all he depended on was his Tai-jutsu. The bandit's would have stood no chance if he had decided to use chakra.

As he was knocking a man aside who came up on his blind spot, the sword of the enemy stabbed into his forearm,. He let out a hiss of pain, but before he could turn around and fully kill the man for laying a blow on him, Sana had already sent him flying, having kicked him hard in the chest.

"You alright, Naruto?" She asked, glaring at the man who was slowly raising back to his feet.

Naruto grunted, feeling the wound on his arm actually sting a little more than it should have. "Fine, just wasn't paying attention."

"Kyuubi's healing you, right?" She always grew concerned when he got hurt so she always had to make sure he was alright. When he didn't answer her, she tore her gaze from her attacker to her brother was was gripping his heavily bleeding arm. Her eyes slightly widened at the sight.

"Something's blocking her healing process," he admitted, having a small conversation with the fox. When he noticed his sister's worried eyes, he shrugged and tried to look unaffected by straightening out his back, "But, don't worry about me, I'll live. It's just a scratch." He had to look away so she didn't see the pain that registered in his eyes and looked around, "Go back to fighting, we're almost done." He said and then kicked off the ground to find someone who was still alive.

Sana bit her bottom lip before going after the man who was now charging her.

XxxxX

_**'I don't understand,' **_Kyuubi growled, impatience clearly showing in her voice. '_**Why won't that wound heal?'  
**_  
/Why is it bothering you so much?/ Naruto asked as he punched one of the few remaining bandits in the face. /It doesn't even hurt anymore./ Which was true. Whatever had happened to cause the sting, had quickly left._**  
**__**  
**_"You're dead meat!" The man yelled, holding his now broken nose in one hand while his other was holding his sword, trying to slice him up.

"Yeah, yeah," the blond rolled his eyes and threw a paper bomb at the man before back flipping away when it went off. Luckily, the bomb he used wasn't a big blast so it didn't hurt anyone else. _****_

Kyuubi hissed_**, 'Because something's not right. I can't put it, but that sword that sliced you, something was on it... This just doesn't feel right!'  
**_  
Naruto shrugged, /After this, we'll talk about it./ He had to concentrate or he was going to get hurt again. Once he stopped talking to her, he back flipped over someone's head and managed to stab the man in the neck with a kunai while he was in the air.

"I don't understand," the second to the last bandit standing growled to Naruto as they faced each other in the last stand off. _****_

"Understand what?" The blond asked, pausing to see what the man had to say.

The man smirked and thrust his sword forward, trying to stab Naruto, "Why you won't die!"_**  
**_  
Naruto side stepped out of his reached and grabbed the hilt of the sword while using his elbow to jabbed it in the man's neck, causing him to release his hold on his sword so he could grabbed his neck because he couldn't breathe.

When he fell to the ground, the blond just chuckled, "I'm just smarter, unlike you so called 'bandits'. I have years of experience in fighting where as you probably only have a year or two?" He rolled his eyes and pulled a kunai from his pouch and twirled it in his hand. "Any last words?" He asked.

"B-bastard," he growled out, already knowing his fate.

The kunai left Naruto's hand and appeared deep into the man's chest.

"Well, if you had fought better, maybe you wouldn't be dying right now?"He looked away to see who was all left of the bandits. His eyes lingered on the last one in which Sana was fighting him. She had kicked the man hard in the chest, sending him flying until he hit a tree and still tried to get back onto his feet.

A low laughter was heard.

Frowning, he turned around and noticed that man was still clinging to life, laughing like a crazy maniac. He was watching Sana's battle and flickered his eyes at Naruto before looking back.

"If I were you, I would go save that girl of yours."

"Why? She's doing alright." He answered, unconcerned by his apprentice._**  
**_  
That caused the man to laugh harder,ignoring his life force leaving him. "That's not the point. If he brings a dagger out and manages to cut her, it's all over. On that dagger is a poison that has no cure. In two days, if she doesn't get _some_ kind of treatment, she'll die._**"**_

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction. He turned his attention back to his student.

Sana's opponent was back on his feet and was trying to slice her up by swinging his sword every which way, though she dodged them on.

When she dodged one of the swings by crouching down and letting the blade swing over her head. She heard the whooshing sound and took that time to punch the man in the shin, causing him to fall again. _****_

From where she was, Naruto could hear her mutter, "It's over," and she grabbed the man's sword and plunged in into his chest, killing him with his own sword.

Naruto released the breath he didn't even realized he was holding. "See? She killed him before he could do anything." He turned back to the man who still hadn't died.

The man stopped laughing but held a smile on his face, "I wouldn't be to s-sure..." he muttered weakly and nodded his head back to the battle.

The blond spun on his heel just as he saw the other man that Sana had just supposedly killed weakly take another sword that had been hiding under his shirt in it's sheath and rose to his knees to stab her with her back turned.

"Sana, watch out!" Naruto screamed and started running towards his sister, a kunai already in his hand.

Her eyes widened and everything seemed to go in slow motion. She had turned around right as the man threw the dagger, and just as Naruto threw his own kunai. Just as Naruto's kunai stabbed the man in the neck, the man's dagger had flew and managed to graze the skin of Sana's stomach.

"Sana!" Naruto shouted and managed to catch her in his arms while she had been collapsing from the force the dagger had.

"N-Naruto?" She gasped out, surprised. Her hand went to her stomach as blood started to ooze out and stain her clothes and hand. Though her brother had caught her and tried to hold on to her, she tried to stand up. "I'm okay," she tried to reassure him.

Naruto nodded, feeling kind of weary about what he had just witnessed, but released her and let her get to her feet. But, as he got to her feet, she didn't last long as a cry escaped from her and she gripped her stomach. _****_

"What's wrong?" He asked, panicked. His mind clicked over to what the man he had been killing had said about the poison. He caught her once again as she started to fall.

"I-I don't k-know," she stuttered. "E-every thing i-is burning!" Her eyes squeezed shut.

The jinjuriki looked up to see if anyone was alive so that they could help, even though he had murdered them, but it was only he and Sana that were left alive. All he could see were dead bodies everywhere, littering the clearing while the horses had left a long time ago. Blood stained the sandy road, turning to red. Well, at least the buzzards were going to have a nice breakfast.

He looked back down and muttered, "Shit," his brain started to rewind to the knife and how it had sliced her. The poison was already in her and if he didn't find some kind of treatment to at least cure her, she was going to die. In two days. He noticed her breathing starting to become labored, causing her to pant. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

'_**We have to find her a doctor.' **_Kyuubi urged him, also starting to panic. The chakra that was in Sana from the fox was having no effect.

"I know," he tried to keep his voice calm but was having a lot of trouble. His brain could barely think. "But where? I don't know of any doctors that could cure any type of poison on short notice near by. I haven't been on the look out for them since we haven't been in need of them. We..." He trailed off as someone did come to mind.

Kyuubi noticed who he was thinking about and asked a bit warily, '_**That's a day's run from here without any breaks.'**_

"N-Naruto?" Sana stared up at him, confused.

"Shh," he tried to sooth her by brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "It's going to be alright, sweetie. We're going to visit a few friends of mine so they can cure you." She nodded her head.

Naruto gently laid her down on the sandy floor before turning his attention to his pouch on his waist where he kept his money and a few other things in it.

"_Ouverte, (Open in French)"_ he muttered to the bag when he opened it up. He then reached into his bag, his arm disappearing as his arm started to go deeper and deeper into the pouch until he was arms length. Feeling his way around, he started to push things aside until his hand brushed across something soft. Finding what he needed, he grasped it and pulled it out before closing the pouch up, returning it back to it's original state.

He re-picked his sister up and positioned her so that she was on his back. "Hold on tight, sweetie," he softly told her, "we're going to be moving at a fast pace." In one quick motion, he fanned the cloth he had pulled out for it to take it's shape instead of being folded up. A long, black traveling cloak was what it became and he swung it around his shoulders so that it covered the person on his back from view. He made sure the cloak was secure on him so that he didn't have to hold onto it.

"Wh-where'd you g-get the bag?" Sana whispered.

Naruto chuckled lightly and pulled the hood up over his head so that his blond/ redden hair was hidden from view. "Before I found you, I had visited the Village Hidden with Magic. They imported a lot of foreign things like this bag and said that you could store a whole room in this pouch without it weight so much. This is where I hid a lot of my belongings now and only I can open it with the password."

"It's in F-French."

He nodded. "Yup. Now, hold on," he moved his hands so that he also held on to her so she wouldn't fall off if she passed out or got to weak. And then he started running in a fast pace, leaving his battle ground behind. He was running in the direction where he hadn't been in for several years. Naruto Uzumaki was returning to the Village Hidden in the Leafs.

XxxxX

Till next time! ^^ So, how was that? Was the battle scene alright? Not to shabby, right? And so you know, I will be using these three languages in this story, so you won't be surprised: English (duh) French (for some talking and random things,) and Japanese (those are usually used for jutsus and some others.)

See y'all later!


	12. The Favor

'_Thinking'_

_'__**Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto, only my own characters.**

**Chapter Eleven**

_**'How do you plan on getting in?' **_Kyuubi's voice echoed in his head after hours of silence.

One day of running later, the blond was hiding in a tree in front of the gates of the Leaf Village, wondering how they could make it in without being spotted. They hadn't been there long, but he was starting to get antsy, feeling his sister's short pants on the back of his neck.

/Don't know.../ He admitted.

For a few minutes, they watched the deserted entrance. It was at least six o'clock in the morning and no one was going in or out. Before, Naruto had thought of just blending in the the usual morning crowd that happened every once and a while, this being the exact day the crowd usually came. But, for some reason, there was no crowd. Now, he was pondering upon ways to get in as the sun was slowly starting to rise.

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh and shifted his weight. /I would just jump over the gate, but they'll for sure spot me. And I can't just parade in there, I'd be killed on spot./ He paused in his train of thought when he heard a soft whimper.

His stomach twisted in a painful knot. "We're almost there, Sana," he whispered in a soft voice, knowing if he had spoken any louder, someone would have heard. Being a ninja had their advantages and disadvantages.

The whimpering quieted some.

'_**Someone's coming in the seven o'clock direction,' **_Kyuubi's voice warned, telling him to hide better than how he already was.

Naruto, still covered in his cloak, blended in with the tree leaves and glanced away from the gate. He watched as three Leaf shinobi were walking towards the gate with ease, but still had a tense look to them. They were coming back from a mission.

He had to bit his tongue when he recognized the shinobi. The ninja walking past his tree was none other than Team Gai; Gai, Neji, and Tenten.

'_Huh, I wonder where Bushy-Brow is,' _He thought to himself, using the old nick name he gave to Rock Lee.

He watched silently as the ninja, slowly making their ways to the gate, all of them quiet. Once they made it to the gate, someone appeared to greet them. He was a man that took turns with a couple of others, guarding the gate. His name is Shiranui Genma and he still looked the same since the last Naruto saw him. Still wore a bandana on his head while chewing on a stick.

"Welcome back," he said, trying not to show how tired he was. "Good mission I suppose?"

"What do you expect?" Gai stated in that over-confident voice that only he and Lee could pull off. "Team Gai always comes back with good mission reports!"

Neji and Tenten just rolled their eyes as they stayed quiet. It was just too early in the morning to say anything and they were to tired from their run here to speak. All they wanted was to get home and go to sleep.

Genma just nodded before notice their missing comrade, "Where's Lee?"

"He's coming," Tenten answered. "He' just had to stop and look at something."

The four exchanged a few more words before the team walked into the village and out of sight.

"Bingo," Naruto whispered with a sly smile, having been listening to their conversation with his sharp hearing.

XxxxX

"Welcome back, Lee." Genma said as he nodded his head in welcome.

"Thanks," Naruto cheerfully responded back, trying to mimic his old friend, Rock Lee. He had used the Transformation Jutsu to look like his friend so he would be able to enter the Village with ease. As he stood near the Leaf shinobi, he asked to make it seem like he was indeed Lee, "Did Team Gai already make it home?"

"Yup, they reported in about ten minutes ago and already made it to the Hokage. You should get home and get some rest." He said.

Naruto nodded and smiled, "Hehe, thanks. But I first must see Gai to tell him that I made it back. See you later!" He started to walk past him, trying to walk with a confident stance. Right when he thought he had made it threw safely, he was stopped.

"Hey, wait a minute," Genma said as Naruto froze and felt his shoulders start tensing. Without realizing it, his left hand started to twitch for a kunai in his pouch. "Gai told me to tell you to meet him at that restaurant when you get back."

The imposter nodded his head and let out a silent sigh of relief as his hand went back to his side. "Alright, thanks!" He tried to make sure he walked away instead of running. He didn't need to be stopped again.

The whole village was quiet, not a stir of movement anywhere. Once Naruto was well out of sight of the gates, he pushed off the ground to be on the roof tops where he paused for a second. He transformed back to his original self and pulled his hood back for just a second. He looked around his old village with a sad look.

"Nothing's changed..." He whispered to himself as memories tried to push to the surface. He pushed them back, not wanting to be reminded of them. As he looked around, he noticed that all of the buildings looked exactly the same. Nothing had changed. From a distance, he could even make out his apartment and wondered if anyone ever took his stuff out of there or if it was still the same. He then moved his eyes until they fixed on the monument, Mount Hokage. All five hokages were there with Tsunade being the latest. His eyes remained on his fathers face, remembering how he had died saving the one village that had casted his son out.

Naruto removed his eyes from the sight and pulled his hood back up to conceal his head.

'_**You need to get going now,' **_Kyuubi reminded him, feeling his depression.

He nodded before he went roof jumping at a high speed that no one would have noticed him.

'_**You hid your chakra signature, right?' **_The blond nodded his head. '_**What about telling Gaara?' **_

/Yeah. Right after Sana got hurt, I used the bracelet he gave me. About twenty minutes later, I got an image that he and the other two were leaving the Sand in a hurry. They're on their way here./

The fox nodded. '_**They'll still have two days to get here.' **_

The blond didn't say anything as he concentrated on the hokages building that was coming at him quickly.

XxxxX

Even when Naruto touched down in front of his destination, he still wasn't spotted. /This is weird.../ He thought as he ran towards the door. Once he was in, he raced down the hallways and flew up the stairs.

'_**You're right. We haven't even seen one ANBU yet,' **_As always, she spoke to soon.

They were on the floor they needed and stopped. At least three ANBU were stationed at the door, guarding the Hokage's room. They each had the standard masks, all of them different animals; a rabbit, dog, and a bird mask. By the time they noticed the newcomer, he was already with in talking distance.

"Who're you?" The man with the rabbit mask demanded, his shoulders tensing and his hands moving towards his kunai pouch.

Naruto stopped a few feet from them. Masking his voice by sounding deeper and with a heavy-set voice, said, "I need to speak with the hokage."

"Do you have an appointment?" Dog asked, his stance giving off the impression that he was growing suspicious. "Only if you have an appointment, may you see the hokage."

Naruto let out a growl, not in the mood for this. He didn't even know why he didn't just knock these men out when he had the chance.

In a split second, he attacked the three ANBU ninja, using his only free hand to first punch the one with the rabbit mask in the gut. When the ANBU bend over, Naruto quickly brought his elbow in contact with the back of this neck, knowing that he had just knocked the man unconscious instead of killing him.

The other two went into offense by bringing weapons out. But, before they could try and attack, Naruto was there, faster than light and punched one in the side, sending him flying into the wall. That one, the Dog, hit his head on the solid surface and passed out. The third one was punched in the mask, causing a big crack in the middle.

Bird had recovered from the punch and back flipped to get out of Naruto's reach. But, it didn't help him to much because when he landed and started to reach for his sword, Naruto had disappeared and reappeared right behind him, knocking him unconscious with a quick hit to the head.

"To easy," Naruto growled, feeling the adrenaline pump through his veins.

"Nn..." Sana cried out softly.

He immediately felt alarm as he remembered why he was here. "Almost there, sweetie." He said and walked over the man's unconscious forms. Without even pausing or knocking, he walking into the room with ease, just like he use to do.

XxxxX

_**'Be careful, kit, there's others in the office.' **_Kyuubi warned, already sensing the others chakra signature.

The fox was right. Besides the hokage, sitting at her desk, there were three other familiar people there. But, without even having to have looked at them, he already guessed who they were. And just seeing them, he was right.

Once in the room, the three Leaf ninja turned around while Tsunade raised an eyebrow. They weren't expecting anyone else.

"Who the hell are you?" The raven hair man growled. Unlike all of the other people in the room, he was the only one wearing the ANBU uniform. His mask, one shaped as a fox that was orange and black, hung on his belt loop.

Naruto ignored the question and waltz right into the room with a caution look to him. He never took his eyes off the elder woman in the room. When he came within a few feet from the ninja and desk, he stopped and said, "Hokage, I need you to do me a favor." He tried to keep his voice masked so no one would know who he was.

Before the hokage could respond, the pinknette's curiosity got the better of her. "What kind of favor?" She asked, but also a bit guarded. She sort of frowned as she tried to figure out who this man covered from head to toe in a cloak was.

Naruto didn't reply, nor did he even look at her. He looked straight ahead of him and waited for the leader of the village to accept his favor or not.

When it seemed obvious the stranger wasn't going to respond, Tsunade gave the impression of annoyance. She had her elbows on her desk with her chin resting on her intertwined fingers. "Answer the question." She said in a grave voice. She wasn't really in the mood to deal with strangers, especially at this hour.

Finally, the blond turned his gaze to the three others in the room. Even though they couldn't see it, they could hear the tightness in his voice. "In private, I will explain." Even though he would rather just explain now and get Sana cured, he couldn't have many ears listening. Even if they were his most closest friends.

Apparently, the raven ANBU nin didn't like the answer. Like the hokage, he wasn't in the mood. In a flash, he had moved from where he stood, next to his team mates, to being behind the stranger, a sword already at his throat. If the cloth wasn't in the way, the blade would be cutting his skin.

"You will have an audience whether you want one or not." He hissed in a dangerous tone.

Naruto smirked. "Really... Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but," With his free hand, he grabbed the man's wrist and using part of his strength, swung him away, throwing his towards the closed door.

Surprised by the sudden display of strength, the ANBU nin caught his balance before he could collide with anything and moved so that he landed on his feet. He straightened up to attack like he was trained to do, but was interrupted by the hokage standing up.

"Enough, Uchiha." She ordered in a commanding tone. Without waiting to see if he was going to stop or not, she turned to the stranger in the room and said in a low, dangerous tone, "I do not appreciate you coming into my office and causing a fight with my ninja. What is this favor you were asking of and more importantly, who the hell are you and how did you get into the village unscratched?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply to her but didn't get a chance to when a cloud of smoke near Tsunade appeared. When the smoke cleared away, everyone's eyes was on the newcomer. He had long, silver hair tied behind his back and had his signature red tears under his eyes.

"Tsunade," the man said, unaware of his surroundings, "there's an intruder among the village."

Tsunade didn't take her eyes off of the cloak figure as she said, "I know. And that intruder decided to visit me first."

The man frowned and did a take around the room. His eyes landed on the intruder and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Okay, so, who is he?"

"That's what we were just trying to find out before you showed up," the third man from before said. He had short silver hair spiked up on his head with his head band covering one eye. He had a book in his hand and was reading it.

Naruto shook his head in impatience; he could feel the heat rising from his sister. He looked straight to the hokage and said in a pleading voice, "Please, Baa-chan, she doesn't have much time left. I can't waste another second talking about this non-sense. I need your help."

Tsunade's face suddenly dropped from being guarded. The color in her cheeks was drained as she looked at him with sad, blue eyes, "What're you doing here?" She asked, knowing exactly who this intruder was. No one ever called her that except for one person. She hadn't heard it in years.

The pinkenette frowned, confused. "You know him?" She turned to her sensi, not catching on with the nickname.

Naruto then turned to Jirayah and using the same voice added, "Pervy-sage. You both said that if I were ever in trouble, you would help regardless. Well now, I need your help. More than anything. Please..."

Time seemed to slow down as the blond was attacked from behind. He was expecting it because when the Uchiha started to throw punches at him, he was able to deflect them all with ease. Even the kicks, he was able to dodge.

No getting a single blow on him, Naruto kept dodging them all, predicting every move thrown at him. He knew the other was trying to hit him, but he was blinded too much by his rage and sorrow and other emotions to really land an injury.

"Uchiha!" Tsunade shouted but said name didn't stop. His eyes were a bloody red, not from his sharigan.

'_**I guess he knows who you are,' **_Kyuubi mused, slightly amused by the fight.

Since Sasuke was still putting up a good fight, not once slowing down, Naruto was forced to kept deflecting them. He couldn't help it from how fast they were going when his hood fell off from his head, revealing his blond-red hair, blue eyes, and his whiskered face.

Upon seeing the face, Sasuke's eyes narrowed more, making him look like a cat.

At that moment, he managed to pin the blond up against the wall, but not for as long as he wanted it. Naruto did a quick, unpredictable knee kick to his capture's stomach and jumped over him. Faster than what the human eye could see, Naruto managed to do a full three-sixty in the air and landed on his feet with his arm up against the Uchiha's throat when he had turned around.

"One false move, and I'll kill you," Naruto threatened, his eyes turning a bloody red. It had been a while since he play-fought anyone. All he had been able to fight with was people he intended to kill so he couldn't help let the threat escape his mouth.

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade shouted so loud that the whole village most likely heard her. This time, her command succeeded and the two male's snapped out of their daze. Naruto lowered his arm at the same time his eyes returning back to normal. He took a step back to let the other man breathe. "Uchiha, put your sword away, now!"

Slowly, Sasuke did as he was told, panting a bit. He kept his eyes fixed on the blond as he growled out, "Where the hell have you been? We haven't heard from you years and you one day decided to just waltz in here?" Everyone in the room could tell he wanted to say more but they kept quiet.

"I've been busy," Naruto showed no emotion towards his old comrade as he turned around and spoke directly to the hokage, "I need your help, Baa-chan."

Sakura took a step forward, her eyes sparkling with excitement and joy. "Naruto... Is that really you?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

Said name looked over to her and gave her a small, goofy grin, "The one and only."

She smiled. But her moment was ruined when Tsunade asked, "Who is this 'she' you were talking about?"

Kakashi closed his book and slipped it back into his pouch, to curious on the new scene to pay any attention to his book. Jirayah and Tsunade's expressions were to hard to make out and Sasuke was just giving Naruto the glare. But, Naruto knew what that look meant, only he would because he was the only one who received it. That look expressed both anger, annoyance and happiness, all in one.

Naruto sighed in relief, finally getting on the topic he needed. He unclasped his cloak from around his neck and let it slid down to the ground. As the cloth was falling, he ever so gently swung the teenage girl around from his back so that he cradled her in his arms.

Sana was panting and was deathly pale. No color appeared any where on her visible skin. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her chest barely rose from the pain.

"She was poisoned," He explained and looked to the hokage. "You were the only one I thought of who could cure any poison at any minute."

"She must be pretty special to you to risk your life coming here." Jirayah softly said.

"She is, more than you know. Tsunade, can you help her?" He asked, not trying to hide the desperation in his voice.

The hokage was already walking towards the two when she barked to her apprentice, "Sakura, go get the table."

Sakura straightened up at her name and nodded, "Yes, my lady," and she disappeared in a hurry, used to these types of circumstances.

"N-Naruto..." Sana suddenly whimpered and opened her eyes slowly.

The blond immediately looked down and softly said, "What is it, sweetie?"

The room got very quiet, especially hearing their blond friend use such a loving voice.

"S-so this... is y-you village?" She managed to say, starting to slightly shake from the pain. Despite the pain, she moved her eyes a bit and found a lot of different faces watching her and her brother.

Tsunade came to a stop in front of them and gently started to check the young girl for any other wounds or a fever. Barely touching her, she checked for her heart rate.

Naruto watched her closely, knowing that he could trust Tsunade, but something in him felt like he couldn't. He didn't know why. "Yup. Pretty boring, huh?" He asked, trying to keep his mind preoccupied.

Jirayah raised an eyebrow, "Heh, everything's been boring for the past four years, kid."

"How long has she been like this?" Tsunade asked and looked up to meet the blond's eyes.

"Since yesterday morning," Naruto said. "We were on a mission and someone cut her with a posioned knife."

Sakura then entered the room, carrying a folding table. She quickly set it up before exiting the room to get a cart right outside of the room filled with a bowl and different looking liquids. When she was ready, she said, "Alright."

The hokage nodded and told the blond, "Lay her on the table, Naruto, and I'll see what I can do."

Naruto did as he was told all the while whispering to his sister, "Tsunade will be taking care of you, so you don't have to worry. You are in great hands." Sana barely nodded.

Once he stepped away from the table to give the ladies some room to work, Tsunade was there, sliding the teen's shirt up just a bit to get to work on the wound. Upon seeing the wound, all greenish and pussing with blood, nearly caused Naruto to pass out on the spot.

"Easy there," Kakashi said as he and Jiraiya were both on either side of their former student, holding him up so that he wouldn't fall.

"I'm alright..." Naruto tried to say but it came out slurred. He was just to exhausted to form words right now.

The two elderly men gently led the blond over to where he could lean against the wall, but still be close to Sana.

As they sat down, Kakashi was watching him and noticed the bags under his eyes. "Knowing you," he said, "You ran from where ever you were without stopping for anything."

Naruto nodded. "A day away," he leaned his head back and slowly shut his eyes, "I can't afford to lose her."

Jiraiya glanced at his old apprentice and noticed how much he had changed from their last meeting, about three years ago. His hair was a lot darker red and if possible, more muscular. Instead of pointing that out, he asked, "So, who is she to you?"

"Well... She's my –," Naruto started to say but was cut off by a pain-filled scream that seemed to echo around in the room.

Tsunade must have seen or delt with this kind fo posion before because on the cart next to the table, a cure was already made and she was entering it inside the teen. As the liquid was absored inside Sana, the more she screamed.

"Sana!" Naruto leaped to his feet, all exhaustion represented earlier was gone. In a few long strides, he was at her side, taking her hand in his. His mind started to panic as how helpless she looked.

Tsunade kept working, not breaking her concentration for anything. "Whoever had done the posion didn't do it right." She said and took a second to look up to Naruto. She then looked back down as a bead of sweat trickled from her forehead. "The posion was supposed to kill her, especially when you were running, that was supposed to help spread the posion throughout her body. But, whoever made it, didn't do it right. So, the posion is useless."

"Then why is she in pain?" Naruto demanded.

"Just because it's useless, doesn't mean it still can't do anything. Whatever was used to form the posion had some kind of reaction that would at least cause the victim pain. That's what is happening now. And since it's in her blood stream, the more pain it is."

As she started to extract the posion, Sana tried to curl up into fetal position.

"Hold her tighter!" Tsunade yelled at Sakura who was already holding on. Sakura nodded her head and didn't allow the younger girl to do anything more.

"Agh!" Sana screamed as tears leaked from her eyes.

Naruto squeezed her hand and had to use everything in his power now to punch the medic ninja. He had to bit his tongue until he tasted blood inside his mouth.

"Shh, it's alright," he whispered to his step sister. "Almost done, just hold on a little longer." But, whatever he said didn't help, she kept on.

/Damn it! What can I do to help?/ He growled in his head, forgetting he had opened the link up that was connected to the fox.

Kyuubi growled back, just as much useless as he, '_**How the hell am I supposed to know?' **_

After a couple of minutes, the blond lost what little patience he had and growled, "How much longer?"

Without looking up, Tsunade said in a clenched voice, "Almost there."

Naruto squeezed Sana's hand once more. '_Just a few more minutes.' _He kept repeating in his mind to help.

Sana let out one more cry before she became limp.

Naruto's eyes widen in alarm but Sakura noticed and quickly explained, "The pain was to much for her to handle and she had exhausted herself out. She is just unconscious."

"How much longer then?" He asked, but this time, his voice was softer, quieter.

Sakura looked at her old comrade with sympathy, "I estimate about... five minutes at most." She watched him brush a strand of brown hair away from her sweatstreaked face.

"Maybe it's time for you to sit down again," Kakashi appeared beside the blond once again and gently lead him back over to the wall without needing to use any force.

Jirayah had never moved from his spot. He waited until his ex-student sat down before saying in a good-manner voice, "So, you never answered my question. How is she?"

Naruto closed his blue eyes and rubbed them. When he opened them, a few moments later, he stared down at his hands before speaking in a soft voice, "She's my sister. About two years ago, I saved her from a man who people would call him her father. But, he was no father to her; he was a pathetic excuse for a man." He tried to keep the anger out of his voice, but failed miserably. He took a calming breath before explaining better, "I saved her from her father because he was being abusive to her. He treated her like a slave." He launched into the story about how she became his kin.

During the middle of his story, Tsunade had finished and was patching the lucky teen up. Naruto took no notice as he was lost in his memories.

"She follows me everywhere, does whatever I do. Just like a younger sibling would do." He said with a sad smile. After that, he didn't say anything else.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Sasuke had been staring out of the window the whole entire time without saying anything. His hands were crossed as he listened to the story. He was still trying to calm down from earlier. Sakura was watching her old commrade with a curious look. She was trying to figure out what kind of pain the usual loud-mouth boy was in and if there was any thing she could do to help. The three older people were just quiet as they absorbed everything.

Finally, Tsunade nodded her head and reported, "Sana is fine now." Naruto's head perked up. "But she might be out cold for a few days, just really dephending on how she recovers. The posion exhausted her and made her weak, but she should be fine now."

'_**I can feel my chakra healing everything else,' **_Kyuubi said but Naruto barely heard her as he stood up and was about to make it over to his sisters side when Sakura noticed something.

"Naruto, what's wrong with your arm?"

The blond looked down at his left arm. It looked the same.

"The other arm, dobe." Sasuke said without even bothering to look away from the window.

Naruto ignored the comment and switched his gaze from his left arm to the other. He never took notice before, since it wasn't bothering him, but, his right arm sleeve was a dark shade of red. Curious, he shrugged out of his white coat and rolled his right jacket sleeve up.

A deep gash was on his his forearm and was dripping blood still, even after a day. The gash's sides were a sickly greenish color as puss was clearly in the wound.

Tsunade sighed and grabbed the cure she had just put up, "It seems you've been posioned by the looks of it.

/I guess that's why you couldn't heal me before./ Naruto thought, having completely forgot about being hurt from the fight. /I can't believe I forgot.../

"I'm alright," Naruto mumbled as he tried to roll his sleeve back down. "It doesn't even – gah!" He hissed when Tsunade had walked over ot him and barely even touched his arm.

"Right, it doesn't even hurt." The female blond rolled her eyes and stopped him from rolling his sleeve further. She started to expect the wound carefully and frowned, noticing a difference from Sana's. "Well, by the looks of it, the posion stayed at the entraence of the wound and didn't go any further. Though, I'm not sure on why."

"Kyuubi..." Naruto whispered, forgetting he wasn't the only one in the room. When Tsunade looked up, slightly confused, he explained, "Earlier, she couldn't heal my wound and she was getting fustrated. But, I guess she managed to just keep the posion at bay and wouldn't let it go any further."

'_**You're welcome.' **_Kyuubi said, slightly annoyed.

"Tsunade, we still have more ingrediants to make more cure if we need some more." Sakura said.

The hokage nodded, "Alright." She turned to the younger boy, "C'mon, brat, you're next."

XxxxX

Till next time!

I was going to make this longer, but realized how long it was already... (to me it looks a bit long.) So, I'm cutting it in half. ^^

Please tell me how you like it!


	13. Being Captured

'_Thinking'_

_**'Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto, only my own characters.**

**Chapter Eleven part Two:**

After many minutes of hissing and growling in pain, Naruto's arm was finally cleansed of poison. He had to keep himself from whacking Tsunade in the face multiple times by reminding himself that she was just healing him, helping him. It wouldn't be her fault if he never gotten cut by that man. Finally, his arm was wrapped in a white cloth to help keep infection out.

"There," Tsunade watched as Naruto pulled his dried blood-stained sleeve down to cover the wound. "Now, try not to aggravate the wound too much or you could reopen it. " As she was talking, Naruto could already feel the Kyuubi's chakra healing his wound, though he didn't tell her.

Sasuke turned away from the window for the first time since Naruto arrived. "Since your life and her life," he said, pointing to the blond's sister who was still on the table, unconscious, "are no longer in jeopardy, mind telling us what you've been doing for the last four years?" His anger was still there, but it was hidden by his usual, emotionless voice.

Naruto sighed. He knew that if he had come here, a conversation like this was going to happen but he was in no place to explain his life, not while he had a death sentence hanging over his head. Besides that, he needed to get Sana to the Sand so she could heal there. "Sorry, if you want to know, we'll have to meet up somewhere other than here. In case you've forgotten, I've been banished from here and my punishment for returning is death. I still have a lot to live for, so I can't be lingering here any longer."

"If anyone tries to kill you, let alone lay a finger on you, as hokage or not, I'll personally kill them myself." Tsunade swore as she crossed her arms and held her ground.

Jirayah stood up from where he was still sitting down and placed a hand on his ex-students shoulder. "And I would too. I will fight for your safety, without a doubt."

'_This is just like last time.' _He thought, remembering how they two tried to get him to stay in the Leaf. They gave speeches just like how they just did, wanting him to stay. '_But, I can't stay here... I no longer belong here. If I stay any longer, I'll just get them into trouble.' _

Naruto took a step back from his old mentor and adverted his eyes, but not before seeing a flicker of hurt in the pervs eyes. "Sorry, but, I can't stand to get y'all in trouble because of me being here." He turned his back on them and walked over to Sana.

Before he could scoop her up into his arms, a hand appeared on his shoulder and gave him a squeeze.

"Sasuke, let go." Naruto suppressed a sigh, knowing without even having to turn around it was him.

"Why, so you can just leave us again?" The Uchiha growled in a soft tone.

The blond did turn around to face his friend, his expressions unreadable. His tone was what betrayed how he felt, "I no longer belong here, so why should I stay? "

Knowing Sasuke, he always had a answer, "You _do _belong here, you dobe. Not out there in some village, but here, in _this _village; your home village where you grew up." Naruto opened his mouth to argue back but he wasn't through yet, "Who gives a bloody damn what those elders say. It's not up to them whether or not they can banish you. Why did you even listen to them in the first place?"

"You don't understand," Naruto shrugged the hand off of his shoulder. "No one understands what it's like to live with a demon inside you and to always be abused by those he's supposed to call friends or neighbors or anyone else. No offense to you, Kyuubi," He added, confusing some people in the room.

'_**None taken.' **_Kyuubi yawned and shrugged her shoulders.

He continued on, "I didn't leave because the elders made me. I left because I knew it was time to. I don't know how to explain it, but if I didn't leave, something bad was going to happen."

"But that didn't mean that you had to leave!" Sakura blurted out, mad. "Even if something bad was coming this way, we could defeat it, just like we always do."

Naruto shook his head, "This village doesn't need to have a burden on their shoulders to always have to protect. People are after me, not this village. It was time for me to move on and lead things away." That sparked some information he had to tell Tsunade so he turned to her and spoke with authority, something no one in the room was used to, "Before I forget, I also came here with some bad news."

The hokage frowned, obviously wanting to argue back with him that he wasn't a burden, but by his sudden serious tone, knew she had to take this. "What kind of news?"

"Orochimaru is recruiting ninja. Anyone and everyone that knows how to fight, whether they are experienced or not."

"Why?" Jirayah asked, looking like this was the first he had heard of it, even though he always went out to gather information that could be useful.

"Rumor has it he's been coming here to attack so he's been creating an army and expanding it." He watched as everyone's eyes widen, even if it was for only a second before they wiped their faces clear of surprise.

Kakashi frowned, speaking for the first time since the conversation had started, "This is the first I've heard of anything."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "Gaara told me a few days ago and that was when I really started to pay attention to what the villagers were saying. There's been a lot of gossiping from travelers too."

"So, you predicted this was going to happen." Sasuke said, not backing down. "You knew someone of power was going to come and attack the Leaf and if you had stayed..." He was piecing this all together, getting at why the blond had left. He was just about to argue that that was ridiculous when a small cry erupted throughout the room.

Everyone's attention turned towards where the sound came from and their eyes all landed on Sana's small form beginning to stir. Naruto's eyes seemed to brighten up the whole room and he watched her.

"Sana," He whispered, gently.

The teenager slowly opened her forest green eyes. When she saw who was peering down at her, she smiled weakly, still a bit dazed from the poison, even if it was no longer in her system. "N-Naruto..." She struggled to sit up but her brother wouldn't let her as he gently pushed her back down.

"Just stay down, sweetie." He said softly. "No doubt you're exhausted. Go back to sleep; you weren't even supposed to wake up yet." When Sana managed to give him a confused look, he explained, "Just something Tsunade told me."

With her name being said, Tsunade came over and peered down at the girl with a small, sincere smile, "You must be Sana. I'm Tsunade, Hokage of the Leaf village."

Sana examined her face, looking like she was trying to figure something else. She turned to look at her brother and stated, "She doesn't look like an old –,"

Naruto quickly covered her mouth before she could complete her sentence. "Sana, remember what I told you?" He nervously laughed, noticing Tsunade frown at him.

Sana thought for a moment and weakly lifted his hand away from her mouth so she could speak. "Um... no?" She smiled before asking him something in a whole new language, _"Naruto, quand est-ce que tu pars?" __((_"Naruto, when are we leaving?"))

Naruto answered in the same language, just as fluent as she did, like he had spoken this his whole life, "_Tout de suite. Gaara et les autres sont deja en route. On va les rejoindre a mi-chemin et rentrer." _((__"Right now. Gaara and the others are already making their way here as we speak. We were going to meet them halfway and go back home.")) He said, noticing how his old comrades jaw had almost fallen to the ground in shock at the new change of language. He mentally chuckled.

Sana nodded her head and leaned a bit against her brother. She felt an arm go around her, knowing it was a now natural reaction for Naruto.

"What language was that?" Naruto turned around to see Sakura admiring the language with a small, soft smile. "It's beautiful."

"French." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed. "Sana taught me a while back."

The others in the room knew better than to ask what they talked about so they kept to themselves.

'_**If you don't want to be caught, you need to leave **__**now!'**_ Kyuubi voiced in. '_**The sun is raising up now and people will be waking up. You need to go!' **_

Naruto looked out the window to confirm the fox's statement. From the normal size hole in the wall, he could make out the sun rising higher and higher. It was just peaking over the tips of the trees.

"We have to go," he said suddenly.

"Already?" Sakura asked as she watched her former teammate scoop his sister into his arms and then situated her on his back like a monkey clinging to it's mother.

Kakashi walked over and picked up Naruto's discarded cloak and handed it back to him. "You're going to need this if you want to get out unnoticed. That blond hair of yours will be recognizable from almost anyone."

The blond took the clothing with a nod of his head as he slung it around his shoulders. Sana disappeared underneath the cloak and you couldn't even tell she was there; there was no lump or nothing, just a flat back. The only way you knew she was there was when she spoke:

"I can walk on my own..." She said, sounding rather annoyed.

"No you can't," Naruto chuckled as he shifted her weight a little. "Maybe when we get away from here I'll let you walk. In the meantime, why don't you sleep and regenerate some energy." He paused for a minute and then added, "You need your rest."

After checking that everything was in place, Jirayah announced, "I'll walk you to the gate so no one would stop you or you won't have to sneak out." When Naruto looked ready to argue, he continued, making no room for him to speak, "I haven't seen you since the last time we meet at that village. I want to know how my old student has been doing."

"You're not the only one walking him out." Tsunade stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Naruto sighed. There was no way he was going to be getting out of this one. He looked over to his old squad and didn't even have to question them to see if they wanted to come or not, their looks said it all.

"Well, we better go," he finally said. He started to pull his hood over his head to cover his hair when he paused and tilted his head to the side. In a softer voice, he asked, "Hey Sana, are you –,"

A soft even breathing pattern interrupted his question. Naruto smiled and nodded his head to himself. He faced his old family and stated, "Let's get going."

The group of seven walked through the deserted streets. They met no one along the way, but they were cautious. Many unwanted eyes could be watching and it was better to be prepared than totally relaxed, even though this was their home village. As they walked, Naruto was in the middle, surrounded by his friends. They had it that way so if their was people awake, they wouldn't get suspicious by the cloaked man. By him being in the middle, it was easier to shield him.

Knowing that he would rather walk in silence, Naruto noticed that his old comrades looked like they were wanting to start a conversation with him, but didn't know what to say. He had been gone for such a long time, there were many unanswered questions, but no one knew where to start. He cleared his throat and asked a random question, knowing that it would help them find things to talk about, if not for them, than for him.

"What were y'all doing up so early in the morning for?"

"Missions." Sasuke answered, short and simple as always.

Sakura went in a little more depth, "A village was having a lot of trouble with bandits and they asked for our help to dispose of them."

Naruto nodded. There were always villages being attacked by bandits and other hooligans that no one could ever keep track. That was one of the reasons why he took the liberty of helping the village folk, so they could live in peace and know they had someone looking out for them.

"Which village?" He casually asked.

"The Village Hidden in the Rocks," Kakashi replied, not glancing up from his book that he had pulled out when they left the Hokage's office.

Naruto smiled at that, even though no one could see his face. "Well, I guess y'all woke up for nothing this morning," he said. A few confused glances were cast in his direction so he explained, "Me and Sana already took care of that problem. That was how she got poisoned." Just to be sure, he shifted the weight of the girl on his back, making sure she was still there. In response, a soft breathing reached his right ear.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tsunade noticed the blond moving the little girl on his back. She couldn't help but feel happy that he had someone he could look after. And someone to look after him, even though she was a youngster.

Clearing her throat, she stated, "From how she looked when we left, I'd say she's be asleep for a while." Naruto looked over to her, his face hidden behind his hood so she couldn't see him raise an eyebrow. But, she explained anyways, "No matter who it is, after being poisoned, the body goes into a small sleeping coma to regenerate energy. Don't worry, it's normal," she added when she noticed him tense up a bit.

"So, nothing can wake her up?" Naruto asked, curiously.

"Well, that all really depends. But, I'd say for the next couple of hours, she'll be knocked out that not even a horn right next to her ear would wake her."

Naruto nodded. "Well, I guess I won't have to worry about a certain someone talking my ear off for a while now." He grinned and saw the hokage roll her eyes but a hint of a smile was on her face.

"So, what's it been like since I left here?" He asked, the question had been nagging at him ever since he planned on coming here. Now was the best time to ask. "I bet it's been peaceful."

He noticed Sasuke tense up at the question, but he was the only one who noticed. "Quiet." He said in an emotionless voice. Behind his words, you could hear the sadness.

"Boring," Tsunade said. "Sure, it's been peaceful, but there was nothing fun to do or have around."

Sakura looked at her ex-comrade with sad green eyes and shook her head, "When you left, everyone became depressed. At some points in time, I still notice the look. Everyone is still sad that you're no longer here, even though years have passed."

Naruto remained quiet as he looked ahead of himself. He felt Sakura watch him for a minute longer before turning her eyes away. He remembered Jirayah telling him the same thing a few years back. Sasuke, along with some of their friends were trying to go out and look for him and bring him back, much like how Naruto did the same for Sasuke. But, before they could leave, they were stopped.

He remained quiet, wondering how much things would have changed if he had stayed here, despite being banished. What would have happened if he trust Tsunade and Jirayah that they would keep him safe? Where would he be now?

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, Naruto focused on what was happening now. Many things had already changed since he left. Just looking at his once best friend, and what he was wearing was proof enough. "So, Sasuke," he said and said name looked up, showing that he was listening even though he didn't face him. "When did you become ANBU captain?"

"A year and some months after you left," he remarked. "There was nothing to do in this village except for try for higher ranks."

The blond chuckled, slightly disagreeing with that statement. "I guess so."

"What have you been doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked, glancing at him again.

Said name shrugged his shoulders, though it was hard to see with his cloak on. "Long story short, I travel around and train whenever I get the chance. I visit some old friends and make new. By the way, a lot of people say hi." He said, remembering all of the people Team Seven had helped and became friends with.

Kakashi nodded his head and asked, "Where do you live now? With all of this traveling, I assume you have a place where you can call home." They wouldn't admit it, but the three older ones were concerned about that one. They had their fingers crossed he had a place where he could bunker down and have a little place all to himself rather than just roaming everywhere and always sleeping in a different place.

"Yup. I like with the Sand siblings now. After my banishment," he noticed that everyone slightly flinched at the word like he was talking coldly to them, "Gaara took me in and gave me a home. He doesn't mind me traveling, just as long as I come back every once in a while."

It got silent for a couple of minutes. It was a bit awkward, but not by much. Breaking that quiet, Sakura finally mentioned something that had been bugging her ever since she laid eyes on him for the first time in years.

"So, why did you change your hair for?" She asked. She couldn't really point to it since his hood was covering his blond hair that had blood red tips at the ends.

Subconsciously, Naruto's free hand went under his cowl and touched his pointy hair. "Uh, I didn't really have anything to do with changing it. I already liked it before. After training with Kyuubi for a couple of months, her chakra started to merge with mine and apparently started to change my looks." He said that like he was frowning upon the fox.

Kyuubi flashed him a toothy grin, _**'Hey, you needed an improvement.' **_

Naruto rolled his blue eyes.

All too soon, the group of seven (Including Sana) arrived at the Gate. The man from before, Shiranui Genma, was still at his post and when he saw the on coming party, especially with the hokage along with them, he started to walk towards them. But, Sasuke had walked on ahead and intercepted the man and was talking with him. After a few moments, the ninja nodded and poofed away.

"Well, I guess this is it." Naruto said, somehow awkward when they stopped in front of the gate. He wasn't very good at goodbyes.

Before he could even move, let alone back away, Sakura pulled him into a tight hug. "I don't want you to leave, Naruto." She whispered in a broken voice.

He hugged her back, a little more tightly than he intended, "Sorry, but I have too." He pulled back and stood at an arms length away from her. He looked deep into her sad green eyes and said, "Maybe in a week or so, we can meet on the outskirts of the Fire Country. We can talk and hang out there."

Sakura nodded, feeling her eyes well up with tears. "Just say the word and we'll be there," she said. She tried her hardest not to let the tears spill out, and she succeeding.

He looked over to the rest of the group. They were all expressing sadness that caused him to look away. "Well, I guess I better get going."

"Naruto," Jirayah started to say but was cut off by a sickly sweet voice.

"My, my, my, so _this _is where you have been, Naruto." The voice said. "You're very hard to find these days. Luckily, I was just in the neighborhood."

"Show yourself," Tsunade ordered, scanning the perimeter for the unknown man. The voice was rather familiar, but right now, she couldn't quite place what face belonged to the voice.

Naruto looked around and when he couldn't find anyone, looked up His eyes immediately sought out a figure sitting on a tree branch, high up from the ground. The man, from what they could make from the voice, had one leg dangling from the tree branch he was perched on while the other was propped up. He looked like he had been taking a snooze from the comfortable position.

"How the hell are you? Naruto growled out. It may not be his village anymore, but he still had the sense of protection for it. The Kohona shinobi looked to where he was starring at and saw the man. They instantly went into a defense position, being ready for anything that could happen.

"My, my, my, being a bit rude, hm?" The voice asked.

Something about that voice sent a chill down Naruto's spine. He knew that voice, but who did it belong to? Why was it so familiar?

Just as he thought the question, Sasuke loosened his sword from it's sheath and growled in a low, dangerous tone, "What are you doing here, Orochimaru?" His body was the most tense out of all of the Leaf shinobi and he glared at the man.

Said name got to his feet. From where he was standing, sunlight shone through the leaves and illuminated his face. And indeed, it was the snake man with that creepy smile he always presented. "That's quite a greeting, Sasuke. I would have thought you'd have more respect for your teacher." He then closed his eyes with a disapproving shake of his head. A _tsk tsk _sound was heard from him.

Sasuke snarled and with a quick flicker of his wrist, brought his sword out and was about to charge the man when, before he could take a single step, Naruto held a hand out to stop him. He looked taken aback. "What're you doing, dobe?" He hissed.

Naruto shook his head and pulled his hood down from his head. He could see Orochimaru smile a bit wider at the sight of seeing the Nine-Tails host.

"Orochimaru," Naruto called up to him in a loud, calm voice, "Why have you been looking for me?" He asked, wanting to know why after all of this time, the evil man finally decided to search for him.

Orochimaru tilted his head a bit to the side with his smile still in place. "Yes, I am looking for you, but that isn't all I'm looking for." His eyes bored into Naruto's blue ones and for a minute, Naruto's mind went blank.

"Who?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, I think you know. She is rather powerful and with her skill, she would make a great addition to my army."

Naruto's eyes suddenly narrowed as he realized who the crazy man was talking about. He couldn't believe he didn't think of it before! But, before he could utter a single word, Jirayah asked, "Why the hell are you making an army for? What is the purpose of that?"

"Oh I wonder why indeed." Orochimaru replied, sarcasm dripping off of his words. He looked over to the white hair perv. "But, don't worry, you'll find out soon enough." He looked away from his ex comrade and back to a very guarded blond haired blue eyed man. "Let's just make things nice and easy, Naruto: hand her over and I'll spare you and your friends. That is, for now."

"Over my dead body!" He growled with such venom in his voice. "I was wondering when creeps like you would start to take notice in her. Sorry about your luck though, you ain't having her!" Though, he didn't have any sympathy in his voice. Without even realizing it, one of his hands disappeared and wrapped around his little sister's back, trying to comfort himself that she was still with him and that she wasn't going anywhere.

Kakashi snapped his book shut and slipped it back into his pouch. "Whose he talking about?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Sana."

"Really?"

Naruto nodded and without bothering to look over at his old teacher, he explained, "Sana was born with a rare chakra that not even the Kyuubi has seen. It's an ancient chakra that has never even been listed in books or scrolls. As far as I'm concerned, it's even older than the Rainbow chakra." He paused and added the last part just to give them something easier to understand, "She's powerful, but not as powerful as some would think. Kyuubi has more power, but Sana is still up in the high, abnormal range."

"What kind of chakra does she have then?" Tsunade asked, unaware that there was something that one of the most powerful creatures that ever existed never had heard of. She made a mental note in her head for future references.

Even though he didn't want to say what Sana's chakra was, fearing that someone would over heard and come after them, he didn't have a choice. He needed to tell them. So, taking a deep breath, he said, "Solar and Moon chakra." Right as the words left his mouth, the blond did something totally unexpected. He bit his thumb and slammed it to the ground, crying out, "**Summoning Jutsu!"** Within a second, a black circle with writing and a cloud of smoke appeared and a big thing took it's place. The thing, the the smoke started to clear, was almost as big as Naruto himself when he stood back up.

The wind cleared the smoke away and standing on all four, in the place Naruto had just touched, was a rather large frog. Jirayah frowned, he had never even seen this frog, even though he could summon them.

"Gilagen," Naruto said in a lower voice. The frog looked over at him and stayed silent. "I need you to do me a favor: Get Sana out of here." He rid himself of his cloak and swung the still sleeping girl from his back to his arms.

"Sure thing boss. Any particular place?" He croaked in a deep, deep voice. He stayed still as he watched the blond hair man move.

Naruto gently laid his sister on the toad's back and used some of his chakra to secure her to him so she wouldn't fall off when they started to move.

"Gaara of the Sand is on his way here. Meet up with him and tell him _'after lurking for quite some time, things start to move at a pace too fine'. _He'll understand that message." Before Naruto could dismiss the frog to leave the village, he felt a presence behind him.

Out of instinct, Naruto back flipped away with a kunai already in his hand. He turned to face Orochimaru who was standing where Naruto had just been.

"Gilagen, go!" He ordered with urgency clear in his voice.

The toad poured energy into his hind legs and got ready to bounce high into the air, in order to escape, when Orochimaru did a few hand signs and had hundreds of snakes erupt from the earth like a volcano. Gilagen saw this act and lost a lot of his focus to jump and was only able to leap a yard into the air. But at that same time, snakes grabbed onto the toad's legs and brought him back down to the ground. Before the snakes could start attacking, they were met with a ball of flames.

Sasuke shot out another flaming ball from his mouth just as Kakashi and Sakura appeared next to the amphibian trying to get free.

Naruto took off running at Orochimaru, needing to distract him so Gilagen could escape. As he was starting to make hand signs, Kyuubi, watchful as ever, yelled out, '_**Behind you!' **_But Naruto didn't have time to duck as two ninjas, not from Kohona, started to attack him.

"Oh no you don't!" Jirayah came out of nowhere and slammed into one of the ninja while Tsunade grabbed the other one and threw him the opposite way.

"You always lacked in watching your back," the perv yelled to his old student, recalling the old days.

Naruto didn't respond as his attention focused on the snake in front of him. Focusing a little of his attention on his hand, he started to gather a sphere of chakra in his right hand.

Though Orochimaru was waiting for him. As soon as Naruto was within distance, he raised an eyebrow and started to form more hand signs.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice filled the air with an urgent message, "Watch out!"

Said name heeded the message and within three yards away from Orochimaru, he had enough chakra in his hand and released the Rasangan in his hand and black flipped away, knowing the explosion would engulf him if he didn't move away from the spot.

But, before the Rasangan could touch it's intended target, the man disappeared on spot.

An explosion shook the ground from where the wind chakra touched down. Chucks of ground and dirt sprayed into the air and a good size crater was left in it's wake.

"Damn it!" Naruto hissed under his breath.

'_**Watch out. I've seen him do something of this sort before.' **_Kyuubi warned. She bit her lip, and added, '_**What do you think he was trying to do?' **_She asked, referring to the hand signs.

/I don't know about that. Sasuke warned me to watch out, but.../ He frowned, thinking of a solution when he sensed it. He had just enough time to jump a yard into the air before the ground crumbled and a rather large snake popped out with it's mouth opened and it's fangs dripping with poison.

'_**Move your foot, kit.' **_Kyuubi ordered.

Naruto did as he was told and moved it. He looked down and noticed if he had left his foot down any longer, it would have been bitten off.

"Always be aware of your surroundings, Naruto." A creepy, calm voice called from above.

The blond, forgetting his training, looked up and wasn't prepared as a fist met his cheek. The force of the attack sent him sky rocketing downwards at an angle and he plummeted into the hard ground. Another crater was formed in under five minutes.

"Ugh..." Naruto moaned, mentally cursing himself for acting so foolishly. He could have stopped that punch with something if he had been paying attention. Feeling a light headache form in the back of his mind, he quickly got to his feet with crushed rocks rolling off of him. Taking a minute, he looked across the fighting ground, trying to see what he was up against and if there were any other surprises he needed to know of.

Across the lot, Sakura was still busy trying to kill the snakes that were wrapped around Gilagen's back and front legs. Every time she got one off, two more seemed to take it's place. Luckily, none of them had started to bite, not they had time to. Near her, Kakashi had stopped helping her in killing the pests, and was helping Sasuke kill them so they wouldn't continue to frustrate Sakura. All of their hands were full at the moment. All too soon, Sasuke had to bark to Kakashi to continue what he was doing as he left to counteract some other new ninja that were no doubt part of Orochimaru's gang. A little away, Jirayah and Tsunade were still locked in their own battle, each of them fighting two at once.

Someone stepped into Naruto's view, forcing him to look to look away from the other battles.

"You ain't having her!" He growled to Orochimaru.

The snake man smirked as he had a calm aura about him. "Oh, are you going to try and stop me?"

"Like hell, I _know _I'm going to stop you!" Naruto threw a kunai at him while disappearing and reappearing behind his opponent and throwing a punch and aimed a 360 kick, one right after the other. It all took a few seconds.

Of course, his opponent dodged them all and managed to catch Naruto's leg in mid swing. "No matter what you do, you're going to lose her today." He threw the leg away from him and took the opportunity of his opponent trying to gain his balance to aim a punch at him.

But, Naruto was ready for that. He regained his composer with such speed and dodge the swing by ducking down. "Is that a fact, or are you just flat out lying?" He tried once again and threw a punch, aiming for the man's unguarded stomach. Just as his hand made contact with the soft flesh, a stinging was felt on his shoulder.

The two ninja jumped back from each other, Orochimaru standing calmly a few yards away while Naruto was holding onto his bleeding shoulder. Already, he could feel Kyuubi's healing ability.

Before waiting to be healed all of the way, he ran forward for another attack and was meet with a punch that he dodged.

Naruto tried everything that came to mind, kicking at the legs, punching him in the chest or face, arms, or anywhere else. But, no matter what, Orochimaru blocked them all with ease. Maybe it was because Naruto was barely trying.

"Fine!" Naruto jumped backwards and threw his arms up like he was going for the Rasangan. Instead of having the chakra forming on his face-up palm, nine little spheres, the size of golf balls, started to form in a circle on the ground around him.

Orochimaru watch with curiosity.

The spheres on the ground started to get bigger as the chakra started to have red swell into them. They started to spin slowly around him and as they got bigger, they started to rise. The half blue, half red chakra spheres started to pick up speed and if you were to stop them, you could tell they their shape started to change along with the size and color.

"Ah, so you've been learning new things." Orochimaru observed, impressed. "That'll come quite handy later on."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as his blue iris's started to turn a bloody red. "Neither me nor Sana is going with you!" The spheres picked up speed, making a dizzy motion. They were going so fast, that they blurred and made it look like a circle of fire was around him.

With a flicker of his wrist, Naruto sent the spheres shooting away from him and straight at it's only target.

"**Chakura no tama no bakudan!"** ((Chakra Sphere Bombs)) He yelled.

The chakra sphere's spiraled towards him, but he just stood there, another one of his creepy smiles in play.

Right before they made impact, Naruto formed a Rasangan in his palm and started to run after his creations.

Someone suddenly jumped in from of him, but Naruto kept on running. He was going to either dodge around the newcomer, or jump over them, but he was going to keep running.

The person who appeared in front of Naruto was female with her hair cut short. She smirked at the on coming Naruto and at a fast speed, preformed hand signs.

Time seemed to slow down. He watched in surprise as the ninja in front of him flickered her wrist after her hand signs were complete and the chakra spheres, just before they hit Orochimaru and the Rasangan all disappeared on sight.

'_The hell?' _He thought, confused.

"I'm called the Vanishing Act Ninja," she explained in a loud, girly voice. Before she finished her sentence, she ran head on to the blond who was trying to stop.

They met, but she had the upper hand and punched him square in the face, would have broken his noise if he didn't move his face just a little before impact.

Naruto went flying backwards and crashed against an empty house. As he fell towards the ground, the house groaned and crumbled, burying him under the debris.

"Where the hell are all of the extra ninja coming from?" He growled to himself as he tried to dig himself out, feeling aching coming from all over. He made it out and slide out to the open. He moved his left leg to stand up and let out a loud hiss of pain. Glancing down, he realized a pole had penetrated through his clothing and into his flesh.

"Damn it!" Grabbing onto one end of the pole, the held his breath. In a quick motion, he pulled it pull it out and bit back a scream of pain. He tossed the metal away from him and looked down at his leg that had blood gushing out from his leg. He knew he needed to stop the blood, but he needed to get on with the battle. He didn't know why, but his mind was preoccupied with something today. He wasn't doing as great as he normally was. He sucked was what it all really came down too.

As Naruto was fixed on his leg, Kyuubi had been observing the battle. When she caught sight of something important, she hissed out, '_**Sana!' **_

Naruto's head perked up and he was instantly on his feet, his leg forgotten. (And it was already starting to heal and patch itself up). He scanned the battle ground and caught sight of the toad he had summoned not even ten minutes ago. And to his horror, he watched as Orochimaru goons managed to separate Kakashi -once he killed all of the snakes- from Sakura and from her to Gilagen. Sasuke was off fighting three on one, though he noticed that no one was protecting the toad and he was trying to make his way over to him.

"Gilagen, move!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, but just as the toad bunched up his legs again to spring into the air, more snakes appeared from the ground and wrapped around his legs, forcing him back to the ground. They hung onto him, making him unable to move.

"Shit!" Naruto growled.

The Jinjuriki tried to take a step forward, but something was keeping him from doing it. He tried to force his way, but it felt like something was restraining him, holding on to him with invisible string or hands. He was moving his head to look to see if something was indeed holding onto him, when something caught him eye. He turned back to Gilagen and then really tried to move.

Orochimaru had made it over to the toad and the still sound asleep teenager. Since he had the toad tied down, unable to move, he had easy access.

"I won't let you take her!" The toad croaked, glaring up at the man. He he indeed tried to get away. He tried everything, but it was all useless.

Orochimaru just smiled and ignored the amphibian's failed attempts to stop him. He bent down and picked the girl up, breaking the chakra bonds that secured her to the toad. "And who is going to stop me?" He lifted Sana up onto his shoulder like she was a bag of flour. He turned around and met Naruto's enraged eyes. "I'll be waiting for you too, Naruto. Until then." He kicked off the ground and disappeared into the trees.

His ninja must have been waiting for their leader to leave because right when he left the open ground, they all did too, leaving their battles behind. The snakes disappeared as soon as the last ninja vanished from sight.

"SANA!" Naruto screamed in rage. Whatever had been holding him down, broke and he almost lost his balance. But, he didn't give it any thought. Quicker than sound, he poured on speed towards the entrance of the village when a group of people appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him, stopping him in his tracks.

He glared at the newcomers, getting ready for another fight. He was blinded by rage at losing his sister to even notice that they newcomers were the Leaf's ANBU/

Before he could say anything, one of the ninja walked up to him. He didn't remove his duck mask, as was it was protocol, and said, "Naruto Uzumaki. I hear by state that you are under arrest."

XxxxX

Until next time! Please tell me how you like it!

Author's note: Just want to say one thing, please tell me how you like the battle scene. I say it sucked, since I can't write them. But, tell me how you like it and if it was confusing. Bye!


	14. Chakra Cleansing Device

**Edited because there were some mistakes and needed to add things**

'_Thinking'_

_**'Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, just my own. :)

Chakra Cleansing Device

"Wait a minute," Tsunade walked over to the group of ANBU. She had a frown on her face and a small cut that was lightly bleeding was on her cheek, telling them she was just in a battle. "I gave you no permission to arrest him."

Sasuke, seeing how the battle was over, slipped his sword back in it's sheath and walked after her. "Neither did I." His voice was hard and cold.

"I'm sorry, Hokage, but these are direct orders from the Elders." Naruto thought he could see a smirk behind the man's rabbit mask. "We have to imprison this... thing."

"He is not a thing," Sasuke growled, clearly not liking the guy. "He is a citizen of this village; treat him with respect."

Naruto didn't try to correct him by stating he _was _a citizen of the village. He normally would have, but his mind was too busy working on tracking his sister down. But first, he needed to get out of here. He took a step forward, but immediately, three ANBU that were around him moved to quick to see and had the blonde pinned flat on the ground. One had his arms set at an awkward angle behind his back to where he couldn't move them.

"Get off me!" Naruto growled, struggling to free his arms, but to no avail.

Tsunade's temper started to raise upon seeing the act. "I order you to let him go! I don't give a damn what those old hags said. I am the Hokage of this village and you answer to me."

The ANBU with the rabbit's mask shook his head. "The elders told me if we were to run into you, to tell you that whatever you say, we must ignore. You have to go talk to them yourself."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes until they were as thin as a cat's. "Oh, I certainly will." Her voice was low and dangerous that the rabbit felt the urge to take a step back.

"Look," Naruto growled, his beautiful, cheery blue eyes long gone and were replaced by the bloody red ones that were known to mimic the Nine-tails. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I was just leaving. So would you mind getting off of me?"

One of the ANBU that was holding the blonde ninja down looked over to Rabbit for the word, "Sir?" He asked.

"No. Our orders were to not let him leave under no circumstances. He was already warned not to return here."

If Naruto hadn't been paying attention, he would not have noticed Sasuke's eyes narrow as thin as the Hokage's. His stance had stiffened and before anyone could blink, he grabbed the rabbit roughly by the shoulder and yanked him to where he stumbled.

"I don't remember you ever being captain, Keo." He spat.

The man, Keo, removed his mask, even although it was going against protocol. He shoved his captain's hand off of his shoulder. "Believe me, Uchiha. If I was captain, you would have noticed." He looked only to be a few years older than Naruto. He had spiky brown hair that had gel in it for volume, but on the sides, he had a buzz cut. His eyes were a dark purple and had a smug look to them.

"Keo," Naruto spat out in disgust.

Said man looked over and smiled. "Hello, demon. I'm glad you remember me." He said with such calmness.

"Kind of hard to forget you when you look like the ass of a monkey." Naruto struggled once more to get free, but he couldn't.

A few years ago, before the banishment, the two were enemies. Keo hated Naruto with such a passion that every time he saw the blonde haired man, someone had to hold him back before he started a fight. A few times though, the two did get into one, every time Keo starting it.

Naruto didn't like the guy, from how he had always treated him, but he still respected him. Well, sort of. During the fights, Naruto tried to stay calm and walk away, saying that it wasn't ever worth it (and he was right) but Keo was stubborn and wouldn't let him leave. He would throw the first punch and usually, it was Naruto who threw the last. Every single fight never usually lasted for very long. Naruto would either knock Keo out or someone would intervene and stop it.

Keo ignored Naruto's comment and changed the subject. "Oh how the tables have turned, Naruto. And they are no longer in your favor." He said, snapping the blonde's attention out of his thoughts. "It looks like you'll be the one to now lose the fight."

Naruto kept struggling but never took his hate filled eyes off of the brunette. "Heh, let me go and I'll show you if I lose or not."

The man crossed his arms and kept his smile in place, obviously not afraid of the threat. "It seems like you have way to much energy to be threatening the ones who hold your life in their hands." He snapped his fingers together and someone appeared next to him holding a blue chest. The chest was about a foot long and about the same distance wide. It was about five inches tall.

Keo opened the box up and took out a strange device from it. When Naruto caught sight of it, something clicked in his mind. The thing was in a shape of a non-pointed star with an extra slot. Hanging loosely at the ends of each end were green cords that had needle sharp points at the end. There was a circle in the middle of it, one half red while the other half was blue. The object was rather thick, probably three inches thick. He watched in dread as Keo managed to pull the thing apart (like it was supposed too). Once he did, blue electricity started to crackle. Then he clicked it back together and walked over to the unfortunate blonde.

In a flash, Sasuke was next to Keo, gripping his shoulder with his hand. His grip tightened, "What they hell are you doing? We only use that for torturing." His voice was tight and if it could, even more dangerous that before.

It took a little effort, but he managed to shrug Sasuke off. "We also use it for those with too much chakra." He said, half making it up. "Don't like it, go talk to the elders." He looked to the three ANBU who had Naruto still pinned down and nodded to them.

One of the men nodded in return and with the help of the other two, pulled the blonde up so he was on his knees with his hands still tightly secured behind him.

Sasuke tried to attack Keo to knock the decive away, but three extra ANBU blocked his path. When the Uchiha tried to devade them, they all went after him and managed to tackle him to the ground, making sure he couldn't move. Others tried to help but more ANBU appeared and blocked their way.

"Get off of me!" Naruto hissed. He violently tried to get away, managing to throw one of the three off, but before he could manage to escape, another ANBU replaced the fallen one and now they held on tighter. He didn't know if he was correct, but it felt like these ninja were using chakra to bound him to where he couldn't access his full strength.

"You remember what this is, right Naruto?" Keo walked towards him again. When he didn't answer, really only receiving the same glare from before, the brunette explained, "Well you should. You see, when you were twelve, Team Seven went on a mission to the Land of Snow. Your mission was to escort that actress... what was her name again?" He said it like he was taunting them.

"Yukie Fujikaze." Naruto said through gritted teeth. He knew exactly what Keo was talking about and knew what was in his hands too. He didn't like where this was going, not one bit.

Keo raised an eyebrow in mock surprise as he stopped in front of Naruto. "Ah, so you do remember. So, then, you must remember what this little device is, right?" He held the object up to see. Behind him, Sasuke tried to shake the men off of him, but it was of no use. Sasuke didn't even have time to bark at them to get off when Keo continued on, "You had one attached to you once. And now, you'll have another one on you again!" He suddenly slammed it against Naruto's stomach and turned it ninety degrees to the left. Naruto made a sound as his breath escaped from him. The green little tentacles wiped to life and embedded themselves through the clothes and pierced the skin. The dug a little down until they found what they were looking for.

Naruto yelled in pain as an electrical shock coursed through his body. In his mind, he winced from Kyuubi's screams of pain as her chakra started to be sucked from her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tsunade yelled. She knocked an ANBU down but another took his place. They looked like they would rather be anywhere than here, but they had orders that they had to follow. They were just hoping the Hokage would let this incident pass by them when this was all over.

Keo took a step back with a smudge look on his face as he watched Naruto's face scrunch up in pain. "Well, that device right there will suck it's user dry of their chakra and energy. Someone took the idea from the man named Doto Kazahana for military purposes. We just modified it and tweaked it a bit to make it a lot stronger. That particular one right there, we modified that one so it could be used on someone with great amounts of chakra." He didn't admit it out loud, but the one he had just used was meant for Jinjuriki. "Where ever chakra is stored in the user, that device will absorb it and bind it in a powerful barrier."

"How do you get it off?" Sakura asked, horrified. She couldn't recall the exact details from that mission, seeing as how it was years ago. She just remembered that he managed to get it off. She felt useless as she watched her old comrade try to get away, even though he was in no state to now.

With the decive firmly in place, Sasuke shoved the men off of him and got to his feet. He couldn't do anything as he dusted his arms off and crossed his arms over his chest. With his voice masking all emotion, Sasuke answered, "Once it's been activated, it can't be broken or destroyed. Meaning there's no way in taking it off." He only knew a little bit about it, but from what he did learn was that this device was indeed a lot stronger than the original idea.

XxxxX

Till next time!

Yes, I know this is a really short chapter and it's kind of boring. Please, don't yell. T.T It's been a while since I've updated so I thought to cut cut the chapter I was currently working on to give you something to read. If I didn't, then you would have had to wait a loooooong time for the next chapter.

Comments, questions, concerns please tell me! I am open to ideas too!

But be warned now, flames will be used for popping pop-corn! And roasting marshmallows!


	15. Gaara Declaring War

'_Thinking'_

_**'Kyuubi talking'**_

"Talking"

/Naruto talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, just my own. :)

Gaara Declaring War

No matter how much arguing and threatening occurred, Keo got his way. Things became a lot simpler when Naruto fell unconscious due to the lack of chakra and energy. They easily bound his hands and feet together with metal so he wouldn't be able to escape when he woke up.

The ANBU group, all twelve of them, brought Naruto and the rest of the group, Tsunade demanding a meeting with the elders immediately, to the Elder's meeting room.

As the group started to walk, they were all in a formation. Naruto was between two ANBU who were holding him by his arms and the rest of the secret group were surrounding the 'demon'. Keo was in the lead with a smudge look all over his face. The rest of the group, Naruto's friends, were all in the back, grouped together. Tsunade and Jirayah were in the lead, a couple of yards behind the ANBU and right behind them were the old Team Seven.

"I can't believe this!" Tsunade hissed under her breath. "How dare they disobey a direct order! The hokage is in charge of the ANBU, not the stupid elders! They all will pay for this..." She threatened under her breath the last part.

Jirayah nodded in agreement, "We're going to have to find a way to break Naruto out of this, or at least get him away. You and I both know that they _will _kill him. Anything to get rid of the nine-tails."

"Yeah, but how exactly are we going to do that?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as a plan already started to form in his mind. "Sneak him away," he easily said.

Tsunade shook her head, "He'll be heavily guarded."

Sakura frowned as she thoughtfully said, "We could rally up a group of protestors or something." Even as she said it, she realized how dumb that sounded, even coming from her.

"Oh yeah, like protesting will do anything," Jirayah snorted. He then shook his head and said, "We're just going to have to sneak him out like Sasuke suggested. But, we'll have to wait for the right time. Right now, the elder's will be keeping a close eye on Naruto."

XxxxX

'_**This is bull shit!' **_Kyuubi screeched at what felt like the top of her lungs. She aroused her host from his unconscious state. '_**I told you we shouldn't have gone back, I told you! The only thing this trip has brought us is getting Sana kidnapped and us being thrown in jail as we wait for execution. Not to mention this stupid, annoying chakra draining device!' **_

/We'll... e-escape... … Don't w-worry/ Naruto thought back, feeling the weakest he had felt in years. He couldn't even remember the last time he felt this exhausted. And the device on his stomach, it indeed was a lot stronger than the last.

'_**Escape?' **_The fox snorted as she was slightly calming down. '_**Right. Open your eyes kit; there's no chance of escaping, especially in the state you're in right now.' **_

Slightly confused, Naruto cracked his eyes opened just a little to where it looked like he was still asleep. He could tell he was sitting down with his back up against a wall. The room he was in was unfamiliar to him although he could tell that this room was used for meetings from the large table and many chairs seated around it. The only things that were familiar to him was the people.

Two old people were sitting down at the table, they were the only ones seated -minus him- and they were had ANBU guards flanking them on both sides. The two elders were known as the oldest people in the village and they were held with great respect. Standing in front of them like a trail, were Tsunade and Jirayah as they argued at the top of their lungs.

"He is just like you and me," she spat, rage radiating off of her in waves. "He is a human being. You can't kill him or it would be just like killing an innocent child."

"He is no innocent child," Koharu said, unaffected by any of the hokages words. "He has a demon inside of hi. He have to dispose of it before it disposes us." Homura nodded his head in agreement. "We should have gotten rid of it when we had the chance all of those years ago."

Jirayah crossed his arms against his chest, "What has he done that is so bad, huh? For the past three years, I've been traveling around and do you know what I've been hearing? I've heard nothing about a demon terrorizing villages. Instead, I hear about a certain blonde whose done nothing but help these villages. Why do you want to kill him if he's done nothing but help people?"

"It doesn't matter if he's done good or not. That demon needs to go and this time, permanently. I don't want him back in this village."

Homura nodded once more and said, "We have to think about the people of this village. And so should you, Tsunade." He looked directly at the hokage who gave him a glare before continuing, "If we let him live, something could happen and I can already see this village being targeted. Do you not remember what happened an hour ago? We were attacked and he hadn't even been in the village for that long!"

"Naruto was attacked," Sasuke growled, his hand itching to grab his sword and swing it at the elders, "The village was left unharmed."

Homura shot the Uchiha a dirty look, "That may be so, but it was still a threat directed at this village. Because that thing was in our village, people like Orochimaru attacked and who knows who else will attack!"

"You know, that _thing _has a name," Naruto said as he fully opened his eyes. He was officially annoyed by how the events were turning out. Everyone turned to him and he had to hold back a bark of laughter when he caught sight of the elders shocked faces as they saw him awake. "Yeah, 'its' still here. If you're going to talk about me, either don't do it in front of me or let me join in. It's only polite."

Out of nowhere, and totally unexpected, a hand came down and slapped Naruto across the face.

"Speak to your elders with respect, demon," Keo spat and he glared down at his captive.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Naruto calmly asked as he looked back up at Keo whose face started to turn red with anger. Before he could lunge for the annoying man, the device was activated and sent a wave of energy through him as it sucked his chakra away.

"Naruto!" Sakura made a move to go help her friend when she was stopped by an ANBU guard. "Let me through!" She ordered even though she had no power over him. She made a move to slap the bastard that stood in her way but the ANBU made a move for his sword.

Quickly sensing a battle coming, Homura ordered in a loud, clear voice, "You are not to get anywhere near him, miss Haruno."

"I'm alright, Sakura." Naruto managed to say once the device stopped. He had a bead of sweat trickle down his temple but with his arms bound behind him, he could wipe it away. "Don't worry about me; I've dealt with things much more complicated and stronger." To show that he was fine, he sat up straight from his hunched over position and gave her a cocky smile, one that he used back in the old day.

She nodded and tried to relax her stiff posture but she continued to glare at the man in front of her who relax his own posture.

Naruto looked over to the elders, his grin faded from place with no trace of it anywhere. He dismissed all emotion from his being and said in a dull voice, "So, where were we? Oh right, let me go. There's no point in me being here any longer."

Homura frowned but then gave off the impression that he was smirking, "I'm sorry, Uzumaki, but we can't. We told you when you left that if you were to ever show your face here again, then you were giving us permission to kill you."

"Stop bull shitting me," Naruto growled and his voice lowered, "You're mixing the words up. I gave you no fucking permission. I only came here to save my sister. But she was taken from me. And unless you want war all around the world, I suggest you let me go so I can go after her before anything happens." Without warning, a wisp of red chakra flowed out of him even though the chakra device was activated again. But, the device didn't affect him this time. "If you won't release me, then I'll release myself."

"Sister?" Koharu asked, ignoring everything else the blonde said. She had seen the boy's file many times and she knew he didn't have any siblings. He was an only child! "What sister? You're an only child!"

Keo smirked, "See? He lies so he can save his own ass."

"He's telling the truth," Jirayah came to the rescue as he remembered what his old student had told him only a few hours previous. "It's his step sister. They're not blood related but their bond goes deeper than any relationship between siblings I have ever seen or encountered."

If the situation was different, Naruto would have nodded in agreement. "She is my responsibility. If you don't let me go right now, then you will have hell in this village. Don't forget, Orochimaru is still out there and he is creating an army. He has his hands on a strong person that could possible help his win whatever war he declares."

"Army?" Both elders questioned. Like Jirayah and Tsunade, this was the first that they were hearing of this news.

"Yes, an army to attack this village."

"But that doesn't mean we have to let you go," Keo yawned, bored with the conversation even though they were talking about a possible war in the near future.

Naruto turned his reddening eyes to the ANBU ninja standing right beside him. "Oh? So you want to fight someone who is ten times stronger than you?"

Keo glared at him as he opened his mouth to respond. But before he could, a popping noise was heard and when everyone looked up to the noise, a familiar ninja with his brown hair pulled back into a ponytail was kneeling on the ground facing Tsunade.

"Hokage, we have some... guests." Shikumaru said, unaware of his surroundings since he was looking down.

Without bothering to look at him, she ordered, "Tell them to leave; I have other things to deal with." Her voice was full of impatience and annoyance.

Shikumaru looked up, "That isn't possible. He's coming here even as we speak." He then took notice where he was. When his eyes caught sight of a certain blonde in the room, his eyes widen in disbelief and he stuttered, "N-Naruto?"

"Hey, Shikumaru, what's up?" Naruto casually greeted one of his old friends. His eyes switched back to blue before the other even noticed.

Tsunade, not wanting to deal with the newcomer right now, rubbed her temples. If the guest was coming here right now, then she couldn't blow them off like she would usually do. "Fine, who is it?"

Shikumaru looked back to his hokage, still shocked about seeing Naruto. He said in a clear voice, "Gaara of the Sand."

As if on cue, a voice on the outside of the closed door could be heard.

"I'm sorry, but you cannot go in there."

"Are you going to try and stop him?" A deep, masculine voice demanded from the guard.

There was a cry of pain a second later and the door opened with a loud bang as it hit the wall. In walked three people, otherwise known as the Sand siblings.

Gaara walked in first with his head held high. Flanking him on either side was Temari and Kankuro. They all wore their weapons on their backs like they were expecting a battle and they all held serious looks. Gaara barely even glanced over in Naruto's direction before he addressed the hokage.

"Why do you hold him like he's a prisoner?" He demanded without one single gesture of greetings. He pointed to the chains that were wrapped around Naruto's ankles and wrists.

Tsunade frowned but kept herself from bristling at how the remark was pointed at her. She tossed her head in the elders direction and said, "Don't ask me. Ask these... people." She had to stop herself from saying hags though she was very close in to saying it without caring. "You and I both know I would never have him in that position."

Gaara turned his dangerous looking eyes to the elders and waited for an explanation.

Homura puffed out his chest a little, threatened by the newcomer. But he kept his cool and said, "You may be the Kazekage in the Sand, but you have no right in being here and telling us what we can and can not do. This is our problem, not yours."

Naruto lashed out before anything else could be spoken, "I ain't no ones problem!"

Gaara ignored the comment and said, "I have every right in being here when you hold my ninja captive."

"Your ninja? Since when is he apart of your village?" Koharu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Temari, without being seen, disappeared from standing right next to her brother and walked over to her half brother. When Keo stepped in front of her, blocking her passage, she punched him square in the jaw that it sent him flying.

"Don't stand in my way," she simply said and continued her brisk pace towards him.

Sakura smirked at watching the other woman kick ass and she managed to sneak around the ANBU still in front of her.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Temari asked as she knelt besides him. She pulled one of her bobbi pens from her hair and inserted it into the locks around his ankles and jiggled the pen until it came unlocked. She started on the one on his wrists.

Sakura appeared besides them just as he said in a sarcastic tone, "Sure, if you think getting both your energy and chakra sucked out of you is fine."

Temari rolled her eyes as she managed to unlock the last lock.

"He may be your ninja," Koharu said, "but is on our territory when we already threatened him."

"Since he's on our territory," Homura continued to say what her comrade was getting at, "he must be executed."

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You will do no such thing."

The male elder chuckled, not at all affected by the tone, "I highly doubt you have any say in this, Gaara of the Sand."

"I think he does," Sasuke said out of the blue. He still held respect for the Kazekage and when he looked over to him, the Jinjuriki nodded in his direction. "It's not your place to kill someone else's ninja."

"Sasuke Uchiha, silence yourself or we will silence it for you!" Homura barked.

Jirayah took a step forward and crossed his arms against his chest, "No chance in silencing me. So I'll say what he said: It's not your place to kill someone else's ninja."

Gaara looked directly at the elders and announced, "If you kill him, consider yourself at war with the Sand Village."

The room suddenly fell silent. The elders looked on to the young Kazekage with disbelief in their eyes. Tsunade and the others who were against what the elders were saying, looked a little smudged, not at all worried about the threat that had just been declared.

Keo, who had smashed into a wall and caused a hole in it, stumbled to a stand as rubble fell off of him. "Why the hell would you declare war over that thing?" He spat as he rubbed his bruising jaw.

Gaara turned his icy cold stare at the ANBU ninja and said, "Never talk about him like that when you're in front of me." Some sand started to spill from his already opened gourd and onto the floor, causing a few people to gulp and take a step back. "If you haven't noticed, we are the same." His voice was full of so much venom that the feeling in the air dropped dramatically.

The ninja looked back and forth between the two Jinjuriki as he was missing something of the bigger picture. His face suddenly turned into a vicious frown as he understood what the Kazekage was talking about. He opened his mouth to spat something when out of nowhere, a stapler came flying out of the blue and hit him right on his arm. He turned to Tsunade who was glaring at him.

"Say anything and I swear your future will be a living hell," she wouldn't admit it, but his life was already going to end soon by how he was treating Naruto and how he was disobeying her orders.

Homura got to his feet and cleared his throat. He was a little over the news he just received and tried to find something that could help get past this awkward situation, "Kazekage, you really don't want to go to war with Konoha."

Kankuro spoke for the first time since they first walked into the meeting room, "We will if you murder Naruto."

"That'll be just suicide," Naruto finally said.

For once, Koharu agreed with him. "Do you know how much death would come to your village if you went to war with us?"

Shikumaru rolled his eyes, "Do you know how much death _we'll _have if we went to war with them?" Even though he wasn't a part of this meeting, he couldn't help but follow on what was being said and add any information that he seemed worthy to add, like just now.

'_**Kit, you need to go.' **_Kyuubi's voice, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation, now decided it was time to talk, said. '_**Sana is getting farther and farther away and if you don't leave now, you will lose her trail.'**_

Naruto nodded. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this mess so he said, "Look, I'm sorry about everything. Let this be my one and only warning and I'll never come back here. I have somewhere I need to be, someone important to save and if I don't go soon, it might be to late." He looked at Gaara, and a message passed between them.

"I say let him go. There's no harm done in this one mess up." There had to be some way to get Naruto out of this mess and she was afraid she was doing it wrong.

"Certainly not," Koharu shook her head. "We will not let him go. In two days when the sun is high in the sky, Naruto Uzumaki will be executed."

"What?" Some people cried in distress.

"You can't do that!" Jirayah lashed out. He really hated politics. Sometimes, the only way to get things done was to use physical maneuvers. But, right now, that wouldn't help any.

Homura stood up beside his comrade and slammed his hands against the table, "We can and we will. Any objections will be held tomorrow. But as of now, this discussion is over with." He looked over to Keo and said, "Take him away."

Keo bowed slightly, more than happy to follow that order. He walked over to the glaring blonde.

Naruto, never one to follow orders or liking to stay clam in situations like these, didn't like the new order. With his hands free, thanks to Temari, he waited until the brunette was close enough before getting ready to smack him all the way to next week. That was, until a certain raven-haired man stopped him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto growled in disbelief ad Sasuke had managed to handcuff his hands back together.

In a voice so low that no one except for the two of them could hear, he whispered, "Just stay calm. I have a plan that will get the elders off of your back forever. Just cooperate and leave everything to me."

Naruto understood that the ANBU captain had a plan already in mind but he still struggled to get away.

"Oh, quiet down already," Keo said and knocked the blonde out from one blow to the head.

Sasuke caught his friend before he collapsed to the ground and glared daggers at the other. He then looked over to the hokage, and giving her the smallest of nods, disappeared with Naruto's arm in his hand and Keo.

Ignoring the elders, Tsunade turned to the Sand siblings and said, "I will have a hotel ready for you. In the meantime, follow me."

Temari bowed to her, "Thank you for your hospitality, Hokage."

The hokage turned back to the elders and said, "I _will _be back." She turned on her heel and left the office with the Sand siblings, Sakura, Kakashi, and Jirayah all close behind her.

XxxxX Till next time

Okay, I know that last chapter was a BIG disappointment. To be honest, the idea that Naruto's friends didn't help never crossed my mind. I guess it was because in my head I imagined all of that was happening at such a fast pace, that I never took into account that if this were a real episode, the others wouldn't just stand there and let that happen to their friend. I really don't know how to fix that so I won't. I'm just going to continue on with the story and hopefully, those who don't hate the story and are sticking with me to the end, things will get better and clearer.

I just want to say that I really just want to quit this piece of shit that people call a story. I feel like I'm letting you guys down with my crappy writing. But, I told myself a loooong time ago that I won't give up on a story, no matter how bad it is. I have to finish it, even if I don't like it.

I do have to say though, my other story, Over A Decades Wait, only has three chapters left. Meaning, when that's done and over with, I'll only be working on two stories then. This one and a different one. With that, updates for this story will, and I do mean it this time, will be faster. If they aren't, I give someone the permission to spam my inbox with threats until I update. Deal? I say in about three weeks, maybe four, updates should be faster for this story. Please hang in there. I'm trying my best, even though it doesn't seem like it.

Enough of my chatter. Please tell me how you like it. Any thing helps! Thanks for sticking with me!


	16. Prisoner

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto**

Chapter Fourteen

**Sana's POV**

She slowly opened her eyes just as her head started to pound in the back of her head. '_Why does my head hurt?' _She thought, feeling a bit foggy from sleeping for so long. She stared up at the brown ceiling above her. '_I must have been sleeping for a long time. Why didn't Naruto wake me?' _She continued to stare, not really thinking about anything in particular. '_Maybe he...' _She paused on her thought and frowned. She was staring at a ceiling... the last thing she remembered was being outside.

Any form of sleep that had been lingering around her vanished as she bolted to a sitting position. Sana looked around her surroundings and realized everything was unfamiliar.

'_Where the hell am I?' _She thought. '_Where's Naruto? I couldn't have been out for more than a day. He wouldn't have been able to find any shelter that fast...' _She was sitting on a rock hard bed in a medium side room. The walls were made of earth, like someone carved into the earth. It was dark except for a few candles that were scattered around, being the only light source she could detect. Her eyes had no trouble adjusting to the faint light. Last but not least, when she tried to get up off the bed to explore, something held her back.

"What?" She turned and looked behind her. A dark metal chain was around her wrist which was connected to the wall. She couldn't move very far with the chain on her, even when she tried using force to try to get away. Wiggling her wrist to break free and trying to get it off with her other free hand did no good either. What was going on?

"No matter what you try, you won't be able to break free." A calm, male's voice said, causing Sana to freeze up for a second.

Turning around so quick that most people would have gotten dizzy, Sana narrowed her eyes as she sought out the person who spoke. She could have sworn she was the only person in here. Sitting in the darkest corner of the medium sized room was a man sitting down on a simple wooden chair. He has silver hair pulled back into a pony tail and big round glasses that hide his eyes whenever the light hit his face. He watched her with a curious expression.

"Who are you?" Sana growled. Rule one she learned from Naruto was that when you were alone and chained to a wall, don't let your guard down. Already, she could feel bad vibes coming off of this guy so there was no way her guard was going down or away for that matter. "Where am I and where is Naruto?"

The man smirked and stood up from his chair. He stretched a little and introduced himself, "My name is Kabuto, you are in Orochimaru's lair, and as for Naruto, he should be here soon." He said, answering all of the questions. He walked towards her in a calm fashion.

Sana furrowed her eyebrows as she thoughts got tangled up. "Why am I here though? H-how did I get here? Last thing I remembered was falling asleep on Naruto's back..." She trailed off.

"You are full of so many questions," Kabuto said but he didn't looked annoyed, just amused, "But don't fret, they will all be answered n due time." He pushed his glassed up on his nose, flashing his blue eyes before continuing to talk, "While you were sound asleep, your brother lost track of you. There was a big fight over you, but he lost and we managed to take you from him."

"Why?" Sana asked, unnerved by a new feeling that started to squeeze her on the insides. "Why do you want me for?"

Reaching the bed, Kabuto stopped and stared straight in the teens green eyes, "Why wouldn't we? You're very powerful with that unique chakra of yours. We'll need someone like you."

"For?"

He smiled in a creepy way, "Orochimaru's army of course."

Finding this to be the perfect time to stall and gather information, Sana questioned, "Why is he making an army for?" She didn't like where this was going either. Keeping his eyes trained on hers, the teen slowly had her other hand disappear from sight. At the same time, she slowly started to pour some chakra into her necklace.

"Well, for many reasons." The medic ninja said, being oblivious to her movements. "Besides just getting payback, we also need to 'visit' Sasuke Uchiha."

Sana frowned. The few stories that her brother told her about his friend came to mind. As his words were being repeated in her mind, she suddenly realized who she was dealing with.

"Orochimaru..." She whispered and her eyes widen a little. She mentally slapped herself from not realizing that out earlier. How could she be so stupid?

Kabuto looked at her with a curious look. Then he smiled once again, "Ah, so you've heard of him. No doubt Naruto has informed you about him."

"Whatever you're going to do, you won't get away with it!" She suddenly yelled at him. Without giving any warning, she started glowing a dark color of blues and purples. White specks surrounded her, reminding Kabuto of being outside at night and watching the stars.

He didn't look fazed though. If anything, he had a look of interest locked on his face. "So this is your Lunar chakra," he said, using the scientific name for the moon. He felt the power radiating off of her and grew excited, though he tried not to show it.

Sana glared at him. The chakra floating around her flowed in one quickly, fluid motion and surged to her wrist that was chained to the wall.

Time seemed to slow down. One moment, the chain was still intact and in the next, the chakra seemed to freeze the metal to where Sana barely moved her wrist and the chain shattered into thousands of pieces. With the chain no longer bounding her to the wall, Sana was on her feet with a kunai in her other hand.

Kabuto had only enough time to deflect the kunai with his own he managed to receive from his pact before Sana's weapon pierced his skin. From the time he was defecting the one weapon, his guard slipped and Sana jumped past him, running towards the door.

She pulled the door opened, using all of her might against the heavy metal door and took a sharp left when she reached the hallway. To be honest, she didn't know where she was going, but taking a right would have been just like taking a left; you don't know where the exit is until you look. As she ran, she was trying to remember what the Leaf village looked like so she could teleport there. She knew for a fact Naruto would still be there and for some reason, she had a hunch that Gaara and Temari and Kankuro were there too. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did.

Just as an vague image came to mind, she rounded a corner and ran straight into someone.

The person grabbed her shoulder with a relaxed grip.

"Nn! Get off!" Sana tried to bat away the hand. But just as she tried, the hand tightened and wouldn't budge, it was like iron. She tried to turn around, thinking it would be easier to escape, but she became trapped in the two way hallway. Kabuto came walking the way she had just came, a calm feeling around him even though he had let her escape.

"Lord Orochimaru," he bowed to the man holding Sana by the shoulder. He came to a stop a couple of feet from the two.

Sana stopped moving for a second and turned to her captor. She immediately agreed with Naruto, this man was number one on the creepy list.

Orochimaru wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. He looked towards his (lieutenant?) and asked in a chilling, but calm voice, "And? How was it?"

Kabuto smiled and nodded his head as he took a peak over at the teenager, "Incredible. It's like something I've never seen before. It will be quite useful for what you have planned."

Realizing that her escapement was all part of a plan, Sana tried furiously to get away, "Get off!" She yelled. She wished she could just teleport out of here, but with Orochimaru holding onto her, it wasn't likely. She refused to show her gift to anyone other than those who cared about her and she caring about them.

She struggled in his tight grip. Everything she tried failed against him. She couldn't even access her chakra for some reason. She felt weak against him and all he was doing was holding on to her without showing any sign of struggle himself, even though she was giving it her best. Was it because she was still exhausted from that poison that was in her system? She still had to recover from it not to mention the side effects.

The snake ignored her and said, "And the operation, when will it take place? I want to see her power for myself and I doubt she'll do it willing for me right now."

'_Operation?'_ Sana thought, a feeling of dread entered her mind.

Kabuto glanced over at Sana and looked her up and down, causing her to stand there in a tense, uncomfortable situation. "I was going to wait until Naruto made it here so it would be easier to erase both of their minds," the two shared a look that was to complicated to read, "but if you'd like, I could do it in two days for her. I would just have to get the appropriate things ready."

Sana's eyes widened. She thought over what was just said as her hand reached into her pouch on her hip and dug out a flash bomb. She made little movement so the other two wouldn't know what she was doing. Both men were talking to each other and looked to be engrossed with their conversation to notice anything else going on, so now would be the time for a distraction.

Slowly, she moved her hand a little so she would have good force for when she threw it down it would explode. As soon as she was ready, however, the paper disappeared from her hand and someone spoke.

"For powerful people, you sure are stupid."

Orochimaru stopped talking to Kabuto and turned around, still having an iron grip on Sana's shoulder. He smiled, "Antigone, (an~tig~e~ne) a please seeing you."

Said name was walking towards them with an annoyed expression on her face. She had blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun on top of her head. Her purple eyes were narrowed and had a bored look to them that fit her expression. She had on a short, purple kimono with white doves printed all around. Black knee high boots completed her outfit.

"Yeah, whatever," was her answer.

A spark of anger filled Kabuto eyes as he said to her in a tight voice, "You should address him with respect, since he is your boss. And for your information, we already knew what she was doing; using a flash bomb to blind us, hoping that Orochimaru would release her so that she could teleport out of here."

Sana felt a cold sweat trickle down the back of her neck. Temari's words from a practice session a long time came to mind, '_Never under estimate your opponent, even when they get distracted. They always know whats going on around them, even if they don't. Especially if they are experienced ninjas.' _She mentally slapped herself for being so dumb. Trying once more, she tried to get out of his grasp by moving and batting his hand away, but nothing would work; it was the same as before.

"Hush, Kabuto," Orochimaru silenced the man next to him. Said name bowed his head and shut his mouth, though he cast Antigone a hate filled glare. Orochimaru looked to the woman and gave her an apologetic smile, "What can we do for you?" He practically purred.

"Just taking a walk when I heard voices," She yawned and looked over to Sana before adverting her gaze back to Orochimaru. "So, when is the ambush war thing taking place? Most of my men are getting restless." '_Not to mention I am too,' _She thought.

Orochimaru smiled once more and told her, "Once the nine-tails arrives, we'll start to prepare."

Sana growled out, "He won't come here!"

The three looked over at her and the man in charge simply said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure he will, Sana Uzumaki. He'd do anything to make sure you're safe, even if that means getting himself hurt."

She opened her mouth to say something when something hard came in contact with the back of her head and she was out like a light.

Kabuto caught her and said, "I still don't understand why we brought her here if you're just going to release her."

Orochimaru turned around and said before he walked away, "I want to see what she and Naruto are capable of now. We haven't seen nor heard from the nine-tails for so long, I know he has managed to learn some new jutus. I just want to see what I'm up against."

Kabuto stared after his master and once he was out of sight, Antigone commented, "He doesn't seem like the type to get to know his opponent."

"He's not. I wonder what he's planning."

**XxxxX**

**And that's it for this week! And sadly it's not very long. :/ But not every chapter can be, nn? Hope you liked it. **

**Comments, concerns, suggestions, advice, I'm all ears! :D **


	17. Saying His Final Goodbyes

**Happy Easter! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, just my own characters! **

**Chapter Fifteen**

"This is fucking bull shit!" Naruto growled under his breath as he tried to move his wrists as he found them falling asleep.

'_**Tell me about it,' **_Kyuubi groaned. The device on her host was sucking her dry of her chakra, causing her to become exhausted and weak. Even doing the simple task of talking was proving to be a little difficult for her.

For the last three hours, Naruto had been chained to a cement wall in the dungeon. His wrists were so tightly chained, he could feel the metal dig into his skin every time he tried to move them. He was sitting on his butt and had barely any room to move. The room he was in was poorly lit and it was the size of a small office room. There was nothing in the cell as it was a holding cell. The cell was damp and had water dripping from the ceiling in one corner and a cold current blew every now and then. It was such a miserable place. Not to mention the blonde was under constant watch.

/When is Sasuke getting here?/ Naruto thought to the fox, getting more and more irritated. Not only was his wrists falling asleep but his ass was too. He wished he was allowed to move around to stretch his legs. /The only reason why we haven't busted out of this god forsaken place was because he told me he had a plan that would get the elders off of my ass. Where is he?/ He couldn't help but get impatient. You would to if you were stuck in a holding cell not allowed to do anything.

The fox rolled her red eyes, '_**Patience, Kit; he'll come when he's able to.' **_She wouldn't admit it, but she was getting just as impatient as her host.

/How do you know?/

He saw the fox shrug in his mind. '_**Cause he said he would? Use common sense, Kit.' **_

The blonde rolled his eyes. He rolled his shoulders back as much as he was able to to get the stiffness out. He also tried once more to move his wrists but received the same results as last time. Because Kyuubi's chakra was cut off, he felt a thin stream of warm blood roll down his arms. It didn't hurt, but it would be annoying if he got an infection. These cuffs better be cleaned.

/Man, I hate that bastard!/ He growled, thinking of the man who wanted to make sure that the cuffs were as tight as possible so that there would be no chance of escaping. Keo was the one who ordered that so his liking of the man dropped further down into the negatives. /When I get out of here, he will be the first person to feel my wrath. Screw Orochimaru. Keo will get the worst punishment./

The fox ignored her vessel's empty threats. Suddenly, she raised her head from where she laid them down on her paws and growled lightly, alerting her kit, '_**Speaking of the devil's spawn.' **_

Naruto opened his eyes and his usual blue orbs turned a bloody red as they slitted like a cats. He glared at the said ANBU who was walking calmly down the hallway to where Naruto's cell was. The man stopped right outside the cell and talked in a hushed voice to the men who were guarding Naruto. They talked for maybe a few seconds (Talking about if he, Naruto had moved, thanks to Kyuubi's sharp hearing ability they were able to hear what was being discussed) before Keo relieved them both. He waiting until the two guards were out of sight before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key and unlocked the cell's door.

"How is our little demon?" He asked and walked into the cell, leaving the door wide open. Walking over to the blonde, he squatted down a foot in front of him and smirked.

"Been in worse conditions," Naruto said in a venomous voice as he kept his tone calm.

Keo reached across the small gap and slapped him as hard as he could in the face, "I really hate it when you look like that." He said, enjoy the moment.

Naruto turned to look at the brunette and smirked, making his expression look scary. "Then how do you want me to –," and he was slapped once again, before he even got to finish his sentence.

"Learn to speak with respect." And then he slapped the prisoner once more for the hell of it.

_**'Aren't you going to do anything?' **_Kyuubi asked, trying hard to not unleash her chakra and attack the soul who was doing harm to her vessel.

/Like what? As you can see, there's not much I can do without ruining whatever plan that stupid Sasuke thought of. Besides, let him do what he wants; he's having so much fun./ He sarcastically added. To be honest, the slaps weren't even hurting, he could barely feel them. But, thanks to Keo, that quickly left as the brunette used chakra this time and punched him in the gut.

"You like that, demon?" He asked, a crazed look to him. He did another number to the unfortunate blonde before calming down a little and asked, "What is it like having a demon inside of you?" He combed his hair back with his fingers even though his hair was buzzed.

Naruto rolled his eyes mentally and kept a calm, expressionless face on the outside, "Way better than not having one." He barely had time to look in the Kohona ninja's eyes before he was punched in the stomach not once, but twice. He could already feel a nasty bruise forming there as the blood vessels were all torn up.

This went on for the next ten minutes; Keo would ask Naruto some simple questions and when he answered, whether Keo had liked the answer or not, he would be abused. Keo was having a little too much fun as he hit the blonde where ever he could. He would even kick at him.

"You know," Naruto spat out a mouth full of blood to the side, "Why don't you go do something useful instead of being in here in my face. I would rather be in peace." he glared daggers at the ANBU and managed to have the lad go paralyzed for a second in fear before he regained his stance.

"I am wasting my time here," Keo admitted and looked around the small prison with a look of disgust. He looked back over to the blonde. The man before him was slouched a little with blood all over him. There were tears in his clothing with fresh and old blood running down them and they were wrinkled. He was panting heavily and had one eye closed from the blood that was running down his temple. "Man, you look pathetic," he commented.

Naruto just watched him turn around and leave the cell, not once saying anything. He waited until the older man left when he mumbled under his breath, "I'm going to kill him when I get the chance."

XxxxX

Temari paced along the hotel room she and her two brothers were staying at, free of price thanks to the hokage. The three were not the only ones there, Tsunade and Jirayah were there too, sitting at the dining table across from the two male sand siblings.

"They can't kill him," Kankuro stated, breaking the silence that seemed to overcome them.

Jirayah rubbed his temples, massaging a head-ache that had been with him for the last couple of hours. He could really do with some sake at the moment. "Don't you think we know that?"

The puppet master uncrossed his arms and shook his head, "That's not what I meant. Naruto will stay in that cell for maybe only a couple of hours before he breaks himself out. He won't stay there doing nothing, not when he has better things to do."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms under her breasts. A teasing smile blessed her lips as she said, "You made it sound like he's done this before." She raised an eyebrow.

Temari stopped her pacing and turned towards the table. Her eyes caught Kankuro's before she said with a smirk, "You can say that." She left it at that and resumed her pacing.

"What did he do to be thrown in jail?" Tsunade asked, a spark of interest crossing her face. This had to be good.

Kankuro shrugged but kept his smile on his face. "Let's just say he and this elderly woman got into a fight and he lost. He was thrown in jail later because they had a rule that you treat the old people with respect, otherwise you do a day or more in jail, depending on how badly you mistreated the elder." He rolled his eyes and added, "And you know how he is."

Both Konoha ninja knew very well how Naruto was. They had first class experience with the blonde and being disrespectful. All they had to do was think about the little nicknames he gave them, 'Pervy Sage' and 'Grandma-Tsunade/ Baa-chan'. They both shook their heads mentally.

"So, what're you going to do about this?" Temari asked Tsunade, getting back on the topic at hand.

The hokage frowned, "I really don't know. The elder's are very stubborn and will always be guarding Naruto. Even as hokage, I won't be able to bail him out." Under her breath, even though everyone could hear her, "Those elder's have way to much power..."

"I say we still break him out," Jirayah grumbled.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him and said in a sarcastic voice, "Yeah, then they go hunt you down."

"No one is going to die," Gaara said, speaking for the first time. He had one of his legs crossed at his knee and his arms crossed at his chest. His eyes were closed as he looked downwards.

Kankuro frowned at his brother, "You have a plan, don't you?"

He nodded. "It isn't my plan exactly, it is the Uchiha's. But we worked it out with both ideas. But in order for this plan to succeed, we must do nothing. No breaking him out. We will simply wait until execution day."

Everyone stared at him, wondering what kind of plan this was.

XxxxX

"What're we going to do?" Sakura mused to her dark haired friend as they sat in a over crowed bar. She was panicking and jumpy as she held onto her cup of cup. "We need to get Naruto out of there!"

Sasuke looked over Sakura's shoulder as he sat opposite from her. They had been in the bar for nearly twenty minutes, just getting their order of drinks when she had brought up her fears. He took a sip of his own tea and said in a soft voice, "I have a plan." The sun outside was sinking behind the rooftops and the lanterns to light up the streets came on.

The kunoichi watched him with questioning eyes. She leaned in when he made the gesture too.

Speaking in a whisper, he told her what the plan was. He didn't have to worry about anyone hearing the plan since the place was so loud with men and women alike becoming drunk even though it was just beginning to darken.

"Do you think that'll work?" Sakura asked and leaned away, thinking the plan over in her head. She could see a few flaws, but if they had certain people helping and had Naruto caught up to speed on things, then there shouldn't be any problems. She admitted that the plan he and Gaara came up with would work, but some of the flaws seemed a little big.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair and looked out the window to his left. He crossed his arms against his chest. "With him being so heavily guarded, that's all we could think of. We needed something that was sneaky and our options were limited unless Naruto just wanted to put on a show to escape. But, that's all we came up with."

"Came up with what?" A cheery voice asked.

Both shinobi flickered their heads to the newcomer standing right next to their table. Iruka-sensi, but now they just call him Iruka, stood next to their table with a curious look about his face. He showed no sign if he had heard any of the earlier conversation.

"I-Iruka!" Sakura said in surprised. "What're you doing here?"

The older man smiled and shrugged his shoulders in a easy manner, "Just saw two of my old students and thought to come and say hi. Mind if I join you two?" He asked.

Once he got situated in the third chair and waved away the waitress who came by to see if he wanted anything, he leaned forward a little and all of his cheerful expression dropped from his face. He crossed his hands on the table before him and said in a voice barely above a whisper as his tone was dead serious, "Is it true that Naruto is being held prisoner here?" His eyes narrowed dangerously in a way the two younger ninja had never seen.

Sakura glanced at her old comrade, wondering what he was going to say. She knew that Iruka loved Naruto like a little brother and would do anything for him to ensure his safety. If they lied to him and he found out, not only would he be hurt, but his grudge against them would be hell.

Sasuke stayed in the same state but leaned forward a little to lean against the table. "How do you know of this?" He kept his voice hushed.

"Some villagers have been talking about it all morning. They said they saw a familiar blonde hair man surrounded by the ANBU court, the hokage, Jirayah and you two. Knowing better I knew the blonde was Naruto. By the time I heard of it, the whole town was talking."

The female of the three thought back to this morning when they were all walking to the gate to see Naruto off. She didn't remember seeing any villagers awake by that time.

"That," the teacher continued, "and the battle field near the gate is in a complete ruin. The chakra signature left there was a familiar one and much too powerful to be anyone's here besides a handful of ninja."

Sasuke nodded his head. "Naruto _did _come back and he is being held prisoner on the order of the elders." Iruka's eyes widen in rage and disbelief. Disbelief that the said blonde was here. He already knew what kind of people the elders were. "The elders have already said that by tomorrow at noon, they're going to do the execution."

"But they can't do that!" He hissed.

"But they are." Sakura turned her gaze down to her hands as she continued to hold her cup. Even if Sasuke's plan works, when would they see that blonde again? She wouldn't be able to last another four years without him, much less one. "Tsunade has been arguing with them non-stop for the last couple of hours and hasn't made a dent in them yet. They have their minds set. Not even the war threat worked."

Iruka frowned at this news and raised an eyebrow, "War threat?"

"Gaara of the Sand wagered war on the Leaf if the elders go through with the execution." Sasuke filled him in.

"But why?"

Sakura answered him, "Apparently, when Naruto was banished, he went to the Sand and that became his new home. He became a part of the village. They really care about him."

Iruka thought for a minute. "At least he had a place to go." He got quiet and the two could tell he was sending a silent thank you to the Sand village for looking after the boy.

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke. Out of everyone in the Leaf, Iruka was one of the few who took the blonde's banishment the hardest. He had gone missing for a few days and no one could find him. He came back on his own, looking more depressed than ever. When people tried to comfort him, he waved them away and accepted no help. It took many months for him to recover, but there had always been a part of him that didn't.

Giving their old sensi a minute to himself, the two started to get up when Iruka stopped them by suddenly saying, "Tell me what I can do to help." His voice was full of determination and so were his eyes.

The two younger ninja looked at each other and a silent message passed between them. They sat back down and leaned in to the middle of the table so they could talk. Sasuke quickly caught him up to date about everything that had happened and what the plan was.

XxxxX

Later that day, the whole village found out that after four years, Naruto Uzumaki had returned to the Leaf and was being held prisoner. The ones who knew Naruto the best and had time to spare, were in the Elder's office, protesting about his releasal.

"He didn't do anything!" Rock Lee argued, thinking about how the certain blonde would do the same for him if he had been in the same position.

Kiba growled in agreement and said, "Yeah, you can't do anything to him, much less kill him!" His best friend, Akamaru barked in agreement, his sound deep and loud.

The eleven rookies, plus everyone who was in the office the day before, and Iruka, were all crowded into the semi-large room, arguing with the two stubborn Elder's. When they found out why their friend was in chains and what his sentence was, they immediately took Tsunade's side and continued to argue.

"What is done is done," Homura replied calmly, unaffected by the young adults words. He and his old teammate were seated behind a large table for meetings and he had his hands folded on the table before him.

Neji stepped up and said in a soft voice, "What has he done that is so bad that his punishment is death?" He held a hint of venom in his voice.

Homura, who had answered that question so many times, let an annoyed sigh out. He massaged the bridge of his nose as if it would help to answer the question. "After being banished from the village, the punishment is death. It doesn't matter who it is. If you come back, you will be executed. That is how we have done it in the past, and that is how we will continue to do it. I will certainly not change the traditional rule for a low-life demon. Besides, he is better off dead."

"You're the one who should die if you want to kill an innocent man!" Kiba shouted. "All Naruto has done is helped this village. Name one thing that he—,"

"Enough!" Koharu yelled, silencing the man. "No matter what you say, do, or think, Naruto Uzumaki will be executed tomorrow at noon. I'm tired of all of this; I will hear no more of this topic. Our minds our made up and nothing, I repeat nothing," she looked at every single pair of eyes in the room, as if challenging them to yell out, "will change our mind."

The challenge was met and arguments were strewn from almost about everyone in the room. The rookies of the group kept asking and arguing, saying that Naruto did nothing wrong and how they were wrong thinking that they could just kill him. Tsunade kept bashing on the subject that just because they were the elder's didn't give them permission to do what they liked without her, the hokage, say so.

Through all of the commotion, the elder's stayed quiet, letting the others get everything off of their chests.

One question that seemed to quiet down everyone in the room, was when Kakashi asked, "So, what're you going to do about the Sand?"

All eyes were on the eldest people in the room.

Homura said in a simple reply, "If it is war they want, then so be it. We will show no mercy even if they are our allies. There is no point in declaring war over a single man."

"If you are going through with this war, you will be minus one ninja." The softest of all voices spoke.

"And which ninja would that be, Miss Hyuga?"

Hinata stepped forward so everyone could see her. She was slightly shaking from being in front of people and going against the elders, but she had a confident look on her face that said she wasn't backing down. "I-if you go to war a-against the Sand Village, I will not be assisting. Naruto is my f-friend and he is a friend to the Sand. If you kill my friend, I will not help this village. I will help, however, if they will take me, join Gaara and his village."

The whole room was silent. So quiet that you could probably hear a feather fall and hit the floor. Every pair of eyes were no longer on the elder's but Hinata. They were all surprised by her speech and realized how much courage it took out of her to be able to go against authority and speak her mind.

Kiba stepped up next to his comrade and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Same here. What you are wanting to do, is just plain wrong. I will not partake in this bull shit."

Neji and Shino stepped up too, but unlike their friends, they kept quiet. They did nod their heads in agreement.

"Naruto is my friend, even if I have not seen him for four years." Lee said and stepped up next to the other four with Tenten following. The rest of the rookies and the adults followed after them, each one glowing with determination that they wouldn't let their friend be executed so easily.

Tsunade crossed her arms and held a small smirk on her face. "So, what're you going to do, now that you're short almost twenty ninja? Not to mention strong ninja."

The elders remained quiet. You could almost picture gears turning at a hundred miles per second in their heads/ They were trying to figure out what they could say to use against them.

After a moment of quick thinking, they came up with a solution.

Homura spoke in a calm manner, "Fighting with a different village and going against your own... do you not see how wrong this is? Betraying your own kin and friends. People you grew up with. Do you really want to hurt them?"

Choji frowned. For once, he wasn't eating anything and didn't even feel hungry. "But is it wise to betray our friends?"

Sasuke narrowed his black eyes and said with a dangerous tone, "My old sensi once told me, 'When you're on a mission and you disobey orders, you're considered trash. But if you leave a teammate behind to die to carry out the mission, you're worse than trash.'"

Kakashi blinked from where he stood and resisted the urge to look at his old apprentice. He was surprised that the youngster even remembered that, let alone the exact words to what he had said nearly ten years ago. Pride swelled inside of him but he didn't let it show.

Ino nodded her head. "If we just let you kill Naruto, what kind of friends would we be?"

"It doesn't matter," Homura said. "Like I said over and over again, there is nothing that will change our minds." He stood up from his seat. "We will hear no more."

Koharu got to her feet next to her old teammate and looked from one face to the next. Each one were holding all sorts of emotions, ranging from rage, sadness, depression and much, much more. Speaking in a calm voice, she stated, "If you want, we will allow you twenty minutes today to talk to him. You will be monitored." She had to admire everyone's trust and friendship with Naruto.

Despite ready to blow up, everyone took the offer.

XxxxX

"Come on demon, you're being summoned." Keo unlocked and walked into the cell prison. With the keys in hand, he walked over to the certain blonde.

Naruto, who had been 'sleeping', faked a yawn. He had been replaying the conversation he had with Sasuke who had visited him almost ten minutes ago. They had been discussing the escape plan and going to into detail about it. "By who?" He asked, curious on who was summoning him. Sasuke never mentioned this part to him. Maybe he didn't know. "I thought I still had a day left to live."

Keo kneed the prisoner hard in the stomach and punched him in the jaw. "People wants to see you." He said in disgust as he unlocked the handcuffs connected to the wall. Before Naruto could collapse to the ground in a heap as his wrists were released from a tight bond, Keo grabbed the chain and in one quick movement, yanked the blonde to a standing position. He got right behind him and jabbed him forward with a stick he produced out of thin air.

'_**Huh, this isn't weird at all.' **_Kyuubi said, 'watching' her host walk out of his prison cell to be surrounded by more ANBU ninja.

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes. He brushed the corner of this mouth on his shirt to get rid of the blood that seeped from his mouth when Keo had punched him. He let himself be escorted to how knows where without saying anything.

Within a couple of minutes, the group led Naruto into a big room with lights shining down from above. Immediately, Naruto was blinded, not used to any sort of light since he had been stuck in a dungeon for too long. He tried to shield his eyes with his cuffed hands but the slightest movement caused the nearest ANBU to jab him in the side. After giving the ninja a death glare, Naruto did his best to allow his eyes to adjust by them selves.

'_**Ick, can someone turn down the lights?' **_Kyuubi said in an annoyed manner.

/Why? It's not like you're being affected.../ Naruto thought back, wondering why she was complaining. But he silently agreed with her and wished someone could dim the lights. A head ache was making its self known and his eyes were starting to hurt.

When his eyes finally did adjust to the annoying light, he was able to look around the room he was walking further into. It was about as big as half of a soccer field with nothing really in it. The room probably would have seem bigger if not for all of the familiar faces standing around, talking with their friends in hushed voices. It wasn't until Naruto entered the room did everyone stop their conversations with one another and watched him.

It was dead silent in the room.

The squad of ANBU led Naruto to the edge of the group before they flash-stepped away, leaving Naruto exposed. However, Keo was the only one who stayed behind, standing a couple of feet behind the blonde.

"You have twenty minutes," he said in a tight voice. "Use them wisely." He then put a few more feet in between himself and the 'demon'.

Naruto looked at his friends and family who stared right back. So this was why he was summoned. In an awkward voice, he said, "Hey..." and let his voice trail off.

No sooner had he spoke did someone from the crowd walked over to him and pulled his fist back and socked Naruto right in the jaw. The force from the punch managed to have the blonde stumble a bit, but he caught his balance right away.

"Kiba!" A few people called out in shock.

Kiba was breathing hard and locked eyes with Naruto, his eyes glaring at him. "Why the hell did you leave Naruto?"

The blonde calmly looked at his old friend and managed to smile, not once wincing from the pain in his jaw. "Nice to see you too, Kiba."

Said name cracked a smile, not needing an explanation since he sort of knew the answer. "Four years man, and you never thought to even write a letter? Geez, what kind of friend are you?"

The little reunion between the two seemed to loosen up the rest of everyone else and soon, everyone from the rookie twelve walked over. There wasn't any more punching, just very firm pats on the back. He received hugs from the girls (causing Hinata to turn bright red) as their greetings.

Naruto couldn't really do anything seeing as how his hands were still cuffed together. But he gave it his best by talking and smiling.

"Naruto," a soft voice sounded above the rest of the chattering. Some of the younger adults moved aside when they realized who had spoke. "It's been a while, huh?" Iruka asked and walked over to his former student.

The blonde smiled and did his best to embrace the other. "Well, if you count four years as long, I guess it has been." He tried his best to keep his voice from cracking as emotions swept through him. Deep down inside him, it felt like it had been more than four years, much more. He never realized how much he missed this man and pain came down on him as he realized he was going to have to leave again.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Naruto." Iruka whispered and squeezed his former student.

Naruto choked up and could only nod his head as they parted. As soon as they did, he felt a firm pat on his shoulder and turned his head to look into the blue eyes of his former sensi.

"Hey, Pervy-sage." Naruto grinned, finding his voice. They might of seen each other earlier, but they never did have a proper reunion.

Jirayah ruffled Naruto's blonde hair like he was still a kid, "Hey, squirt. How you holding up?"

He rolled his eyes and sarcastically replied, "Well, my hands are chained up, practically cutting off my circulation; my chakra is being bounded and I've been sentenced to execution in a day. I think I'm holding up just fine. Just throw in some poisonous snakes and it'll complete my day."

Sasuke stepped up and ignored the last part as he gestured to the blonde's body, seeing the clothing torn and stained with dry blood. "What about the bruises and cuts?"

Naruto didn't say anything at first. He could feel everyone eying his body, taking in the abuse he had been going through and bit his cheek. "Nothing I can't handle." He finally said and shrugged. As soon as those words left his mouth, he felt a presence behind him and didn't even have time to tense up and see who it was when he felt a gentle hand touch his right side to feel his ribs. As soon as the hand touched him, he let out a hiss of pain.

"Right. You're able to handle a broken rib or two?" Sakura asked, being the one who was behind her former comrade. With the smallest of touch, she was able to tell what Naruto had broke. She touched his other side and was relieved to find no broken bones. Then, she turned him around to face her and poured some chakra into her hands. Going to worst of cuts, she started to heal him.

Ino watched the medic ninja go to work and asked, "Who did this to you?"

"They did a number on you," Lee added and watched the hokage walked over and poured some of her own chakra into her hands to help heal him. "

The blonde shook his head and let out another hiss of pain when both medic ninja found a tender spot. Through gritted teeth, he was able to say, "It's nothing. It doesn't even matter anyways." He didn't feel the need to explain to everyone what had been going on in his cell with Keo. He already knew that that ninja was going to get what was coming for him. If he said anything about it to anyone, they might get to the certain ninja before he could and that wouldn't be any fun now, would it?

Temari walked over to her step brother with Kankuro right behind her. "Don't worry, Naruto, we'll get him after this whole ordeal." The blonde Sand ninja smirked, fully aware who had been causing her younger brother pain.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk back, "Not if I get to him first."

Everyone looked between the two and realized a moment had happened that they, everyone else that didn't know the two that well, only knew what it was about.

Tenten cleared her throat, "So, Naruto," she said, bringing the said name over to her. She waited until both medics were done healing the blonde so she could go on. But, before that could even happen, the blonde's eyes widened a fraction and a blue electricity formed around him. Those who were the closest to him jumped back before the were shocked.

"Nn!" Naruto gritted his teeth and had to close his eyes from the pain. He could feel something warm pass through him, feel it on the inside. It didn't hurt but more felt like something brushed up against him. He knew immediately what it was. It was chakra... familiar chakra. But with that chakra entering his body activated the cleansing device.

Being sucked of his and the new chakra inside of him, the device also sucked some of his gathering energy away from him. No longer having the same energy to stand up, Naruto fell to one knee, his hands going to the device. He wanted to rip it off of him as the electricity came to a stop.

"Naruto!" A few voices rang out.

Shikamaru who had been closest to the blonde, knelt down to try and help his fallen friend up. But before he could try and help, a voice stopped him.

"You felt that too, huh?" Temari asked, her voice filled with a mixture of sadness and anger.

Naruto stared at the ground, trying to regain his breathing and he nodded his head.

Shikamaru frowned and looked to the kunoichi, "Felt what?"

Both ninja helped the blonde to stand up as he was having difficulty in doing so.

Temari looked to her biological older brother who nodded. Together, the three siblings looked passed many confused eyes to the red head who was standing towards the back of the group.

Gaara was standing next to Tsunade -who had moved back after healing Naruto- and Kakashi. He had his arms crossed at his chest in his normal stance and he watched them with unmoving eyes.

"Sana needs us," Naruto said, recovering from his little scene. He straightened back up and looked straight into the Kazekage's eyes.

"Out of the way," a voice said behind the crowd before anyone could say anything. Everyone turned around to the person who spoke and saw him shoving his way through. "Your twenty minutes are up," Keo sneered. Behind him was the ANBU from before. They all walked over to Naruto.

Many protests started up but with a shake of his head, Naruto got them to silence themselves, "You guys all knew it would come to this." He said and rolled his shoulders back and popped his neck to relieve tension that was building up. "This was my time to say goodbye to all of you."

Naruto looked around the room, meeting each and every pair of eyes. He still couldn't believe that he hadn't seen this bunch for several years and when he finally does, he could only say goodbye to them as he was sentence to death.

To lighten the mood up a bit, he grinned real big like he used to in the previous years when they all hung out. Almost everyone in the room felt their heart squeeze from the sight of their beloved blonde smiling that trademark grin. "I would say that I'll see you guys soon," he said in a joking manner, "but that would mean you guys fell in battle or something bad happened." He earned a few smiles from his friends and a few eye rolls from the adults. "So, how 'bout I'll be waiting for you guys, no matter how long it takes me, ne? And it better take a while. I don't need you all to be dying at such a young age." He turned his blue eyes to Tsunade and Jirayah, "I'll probably be seeing you two sooner than later though."

Both of them shot him looks that said '_I-get-you-later-' _and they crossed their arms over their chests.

"Disgraceful brat," Tsunade mumbled at the same time Jirayah said, "Watch your mouth."

Keo ruined the moment by shoving Naruto's arm to get him walking in the direction where Naruto's cell was. "Come on," he said. He received many tense people and a few growls by his harshness towards the blonde.

Right as Keo was passing by Kiba, Kiba spat out, "You better watch yourself, bag of shit." His dog next to him growled in agreement and bared his teeth.

Keo rolled his eyes at the threat and sneered, "Why should I? He is nothing but a stupid demon who's going to be dead in a couple of hours."

That crossed the lone and if it weren't for Hinata and Shino holding Kiba back, the man was going to attack the ANBU ninja.

Keo didn't so much as flinch. He just ignored him and continued forward. He pushed Naruto again to get him to speed up the slow pace that had befallen them. "Move faster."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and smiled a sad smile to the friend who tried to defend him. "Thanks," he said and meant it before turning back to face the front and allowed himself to be escorted back to his cell.

Even though it sounded like Naruto had said his final goodbyes, he still really meant them even though he wasn't going to die. Only certain people knew about the plan and that was how it was going to stay. His friends all needed to hear him say goodbye since it was probably the last time he would see them. This time, he was able to say his goodbye and be able to leave without regretting anything.

**XxxxX Till next time. **

**Finally, got this chapter up. Tell me how y'all like it, or if you don't or whatever. **

**Reviews: **

**Glaceon: Awww, thank you! You don't realize how much that means to me. So really, thank you a lot. And don't worry, I will be continuing. The only way I'll stop this story is when I finish it. :3 (Sad but true. I've come to far to just stop with this story) I'm really glad you like this story. Gives me inspiration to keep writing. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again! ^^ (I don't know if you'd like my other stories; they're Yu-Gi-Oh! But, who knows? xD) Thanks again! And hope you like the rest of this story!**


	18. The Three Options of Death

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of it's characters!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Sana's POV**

A feminine scream pierced the quiet silence and bounced off of the walls of the rather large sized room. Blood was thrown into the air like a busted water balloon being flung at a friend. Quickly, the scarlet liquid fell to the floor, making puddles and staining the sand covered floor.

"That isn't how you do it," a disappointed voice filled the room once the echo of the scream died off. The owner of the voice shook his head and said, "do it again. This time, if you do it right, we'll stop for the day."

"Do it again?" A woman with long blonde hair that fell down to her waist demanded. She clutched her bleeding arm as her life forced pulsed out of her badly injured arm. "The hell with you! I'm not doing this again. You told me she wouldn't be able to touch me, that I wouldn't get hurt. That's why I agree to help out. But this," she held her arm up for the man to see as her dark brown eyes blazed with anger, "this is what I call getting hurt. I will not do this anymore!" She spun on her heal and stormed out of the room without another word.

The man rolled his eyes, "Such a drama queen." He mumbled to himself as he quickly scribbled something down in his book before closing it. He took off his square glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose from the stress he had been dealing with. After a moment, he put his glasses back on and stood up from his desk on the side of the room. He looked around, trying to locate the test subject. When he found her, he looked her over.

A girl of fourteen was in the middle of the room, clutching her own bleeding arm. Blood and cuts were all over her body and her clothes were dirty and torn. Her long brown hair that was usually put up into a pony tail was down and her hair was in a mess and was matted with dried blood and dirt. She was breathing heavily with a glare set on her face.

"Come here, girl." The man said and beckoned for her to come to him. But, she didn't move, just glared at him with unwavering forest green eyes. The man's jaw stuck out in annoyance and he said with a strained voice, "come here or else." Still, she didn't move. He did a mental sigh and reached into his white coat's pocket and brought out a small black object with a little red button on it. Upon seeing the object, the girl's eyes widened. He noticed that and smirked, "Come here or I'll push it."

The girl was stuck where she was. Should she go to him only for him to throw her back into her cell but not before being examined, or should she stay where she was and rebel only to be shocked until she passed out from the collar around her neck that she couldn't take off?

'_What do I do?' _She thought as she slowly stood up from her crouching position. She took a step towards the man but it was full of hesitation. She's only done this two other times and quite frankly, her choices were both ones she didn't want. Either way, she was going to be shocked and examined and thrown into her cage. That was what happened a couple of hours ago. '_What would Naruto do?' _

"Do not make me tell you again, girl; come here." The man said in a tight voice.

Sana felt tears spring to her eyes. The man kept making her fight people after people, trying to get her to use her rare chakra but she kept refusing. Regardless, she had to fight so she only used her Tai-jutsu. That was why she was in this room and why she had made that other lady scream. If she didn't fight, then she'd be shocked and be forced to continue fighting. And by the time the other opponent refused to continue anymore, was when she got her break and was allowed to rest and go to her cell room that she was forced to stay in. The reason now why she didn't want to go over to the man was because he was rude and a perv.

She took another step forward. But, what choice did she have? She was a prisoner in this god forsaken place and there was not way of escaping. '_Only until Naruto gets here.' _She thought and took another step. She had been praying for her brother to save her so she could stop getting hurt and causing other people to get hurt. She didn't want to show her chakra to these people because she knew if she did, they would want more. These people also treated her horrible and inflicted pain upon her when she never even did anything.

After a couple of minutes, Sana made it over to where the man was standing. He was now glaring at her and when she came close enough, he grabbed her by the hair near the skull and pulled her back to where she cried out but could release herself.

"Next time," he growled at her in a hushed tone as he pulled, "When I tell you to come here, do it. And I don't mean take your sweet time walking over here, I mean right here, right now. Do you understand?"

Sana felt the tears slide from her eyes as she tried to grab the man so he would release her. She nodded her head, wishing she wasn't so tired from the fight so she could teach this man a lesson.

But her answer wasn't good enough, "What was that?" He pulled harder, causing another cry of pain to escape from her lips.

"Y-yes!" She squeaked and he released her by throwing her to the ground. She caught herself with her hands as she laid half on the ground and was still in the air.

"Get up." He ordered and gathered his notebooks that he had been reading and writing in.

Slowly, the teenager rose to her feet. Once she was stable, the man pushed her forward where she almost lost her balance. Quickly though, she caught it and started to walk in the direction he wanted her to go in.

"I'll give you two hours to rest and by then, you better be willing to show me that power of yours." He said as they walked out of the large battle room into a long hallway that was lite with torches in the sides of the walls. "If not, you'll be in for the ride of your life."

Sana said nothing. He threatened her using that line last time and she received a shock punishment that had her on the floor with tears streaming down her face and a thin stream of blood flowing out of the side of her mouth. She slightly shivered at that thought, remembering how weak and pathetic she felt. Her bones had felt like they were on fire and with every small movement felt like she was swimming in a pool filled with acid. There was nothing she could do about it. She was to tired to resist because even if she tried, they'd find some other punishment for her. They tired her out on purpose so she wouldn't have any time to think of escaping or even have time to think.

As she walked in silence, the man behind her talking to her about using her rare 'power' next time or else, her thoughts led her to her brother, wondering when he was coming for her. She didn't know how much more she could take of this, and this was only the third time she had done this.

_'Naruto... please hurry.'_

XxxxX

**Naruto's POV**

Today was the day. The day of Naruto's execution. Was he scared? Nah, not in the least bit. I mean, why would he be scared? Most people would be, considering that they were about to die. But, that's because they didn't know if they were going to live or not. Naruto was going to live so he had nothing to be afraid of.

Our favorite blonde was sitting in his cell room being bored. If he wasn't chained up against the wall, he'd be pacing the small room to give him something to do, even if that was boring. Anything was better than sitting on your ass all day staring at a dark wall that didn't move or do anything. The only things he was allowed to do besides sleep was sleep. But after you're well rested, you no longer want to do that. So as of now, Naruto absently drummed his fingers against the wall, tapping to a song that he couldn't remember the name of from his childhood.

He had two ANBU guards guarding him. Thankfully, neither one of them was Keo. They were just two ninja he had meet a few times in his earlier days and only talked to a couple of times. He couldn't remember their names even if he tried; he was bad at names so he tired to fake it until he made it. They were nice, but boring. Every time Naruto tried to start a conversation with them, just to pass the time, they'd give simple answers where he couldn't really continue the conversation. He knew they weren't supposed to talk to him and vice versa -being Keo's orders- but it would be better than being bored. Right now, they were playing a card game on the ground. The game was called 'War', one of the mind-less card games out there. He couldn't blame them for playing it.

Naruto yawned quietly; tired from doing nothing the last two days.

Ever since they were locked up in this cell, Kyuubi's voice stayed in an annoyed manner, never letting up to her normal purr. '_**This is pissing me off. The Uchiha brat already came by earlier, what're we still doing here? Are we waiting for an invitation?' **_Her growl rattled around in his brain, causing a light head-ache to form.

With his eyes closed, Naruto switched his mind to the place where the nine-tails was locked up. When he reopened his eyes, he was now in the gutter like home the fox had lived in for the past twenty some years. He was standing on water outside of a large gate that was slightly opened. On the other side, Kyuubi was curled up with her head on her forepaw. She watched him walk through the gate and lean against her red furry paw.

"Pretty much," he said and closed his eyes to relax. "When we start to leave the cell, that's when things are going to happen. Just wait a couple of minutes."

The fox growled, the sound bouncing off of the walls, making the sound echo, '_**Why wait when we could be out there right now and be looking for Sana? We already know the coordinates of her location, the only thing we need to do is follow them! Now we can't do that if you're stuck in this stinking, dirty cell, now can we?' **_Her sarcastic remark couldn't cover up all of the concern she felt for the younger girl. They grew so close in the last two years, she felt as though Sana was one of her own, much like how Naruto was.

"I know." Naruto pushed his bangs out of his eyes and opened his eyes again. He then huffed out, "I wanna get out of here too, but we have to wait –,"

'_**Why? You can bust out of here without breaking a sweat.' **_

True enough. Naruto could have freed himself the mili-second he was caught by the ANBU squad two days ago but chose not to. He was being selfish because he knew that with him being captured, he would be allowed to see his friends, the people he loved after four years. He had told himself, however, that when he saw them he would leave. That was until Sasuke gave him a plan that he couldn't refuse.

"You think I don't know that?" He demanded, pushing himself off of Kyuubi to face her, suddenly growing angry. With everything that was happening, like Sana being kidnapped by none other than Orochimaru; not being able to save her the moment she left his sight; about to be executed in less than an hour, to having the stupid cleansing device on his stomach, he was allowed at lease this moment to get mad. "I want to save Sana as much as you do. I would give up my own life if it meant her safety. You know that. But for right now, for at least a day or two, I just want to be selfish. I want to see my old village and my friends. Can I not at least have that? I'm sorry I'm being stupid and only thinking about myself when Sana is probably getting tortured, I know that's not fair to her. But, just give me this one day! Then, I'll give everything to go to her and kick that snake's ass for even laying eyes on my sister. I swear that after this day, I won't ever do this again because I'll probably never come back. My mind will finally be at closure here so then I'd be able to just think about Sana and her future."

The fox was quiet for a moment. It had been a while since he blew up and acted like this. He always kept his feelings bottled up inside ever since he was banished because he knew he would break down if he released them. So now, after yelling and speaking his mind, Kyuubi said nothing. This time was yet to come, and now it came. It definitely had been a while.

"The very minute we are away, my mind will only be on Sana and saving her. We only have a couple of minutes left to wait. So just..." His voice cracked and faulted. He became quiet and tried to keep the tears from forming from his frustration and anger.

'_**I know, kit.' **_Was all Kyuubi said as she herself became quiet.

It was silent between the two as Naruto looked off to the side of the cage and glared at the wall. He felt bad for being so selfish, but he couldn't help it. Hopefully, Sana will forgive him when he saves her. And he _will _save her.

Trying to calm his mind down was seeming to be impossible for him. He couldn't get over the fact that he was still here whereas he could have already saved his little sister. He just couldn't get over it. It was like he was abandoning her for his own needs. And that was pretty much what he was doing.

'_**Kit, she'll understand when you tell her your reasons.' **_Kyuubi sighed when she noticed her host being plagued by those thoughts.

Naruto shook his head. He was about to respond to her when he heard something outside of his mind. Not saying anything to the fox, he fazed back to his right mind and listened to his surroundings without even opening his eyes. The sound of many footsteps were coming his way at a fast face. From where he sat, he could easily count six people coming. Closer to him, he heard his two guards stop their game play and got to their feet as quick as possible. Keys sounded in the near distance that came closer with the footfalls.

Cracking his eyes opened just a slit so he could see what was going on, the blonde watched as the group her heard coming his way stop right outside of his cell. He recognized two familiar faces talking with the two guards; Sasuke and Keo. They talked in hushed voices in which Naruto could make out. The only words said was that it was time, and that was Sasuke speaking.

Keo was the one to unlock the cell but before he could walk into the room, Sasuke swept past him with the key to unlock the cuffs.

Neither of them said anything to one another as Sasuke loosened the prisoner's wrists from the wall but kept him in the chains around his wrists. He took half of a millisecond to look at his best friend and some kind of message passed between them. Naruto nodded with the littlest of movements that no one else caught except for the ANBU captain.

Sasuke turned away from the blonde and walked away, letting the other ANBU men talk it from there.

XxxxX

The walk took no more than ten minutes. They group of seven now stood in an opened ceiling arena where the Chunin exams had taken place all of those years ago. Except, the arena wasn't as big. The stands were empty except for a small group that were in the middle but towards the front. And those people all had something in common; they were friends with Naruto. Everyone that had been at the goodbye meeting were up there and a few people that were good friends with him were there too. And there were a handful more people too. But as for them, they were standing far away from the friends and were all wearing smirks upon their faces. These people Naruto hated. They were the ones who hated the 'demon' that had lived in the village and had made his life growing up miserable and hell. No doubt they came to watch the demon child be sentenced to death.

Naruto turned his head away from the stands and looked around the clearing. Standing in the middle of the arena and where the ANBU were leading him to, was the elders plus one or two more ANBU ninja. Next to the small group was a random table that had been placed there with a scroll that was still sealed shut.

Knowing that he would rather be looking anywhere than the elders, the blonde returned his gaze back to his friends in the stands. When he looked closely at their faces, he saw most of them crying, only a few were holding up and watched the scene before them with unwavering eyes. These ones didn't know about the plan that had already happened and wouldn't know for another day or two.

"I can't believe they're crying for you," Keo spat in disgust, looking in the same direction as Naruto. He looked away and back to looking forward.

Naruto said nothing and looked forward again.

The group arrived at their destination. When they stopped, the ANBU guard stepped back to give the prisoner some space to walk forward. They bunched up together and awaited for further commands. Sasuke silently stepped to the side, next to his men and turned his hate filled gaze to the Elders.

Homura stepped towards the blonde. In a loud, clear voice that he had used many times in his life, he said, "Naruto Uzumaki. You had been warned that if you were to ever return to this village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, after your banishment, that there would be consequences to be paid. Is that correct?" He looked expectantly to the blonde who just shrugged, refusing to say anything. He continued. "The consequence for your wrong doing is death. Is there anything that you would like to say before your sentence is carried out?"

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about his 'final' words. Then he grinned and asked, "Yeah, why are y'all such assholes?" He heard a snicker or two from the stands and he looked over and found Kiba and Kankuro giving him thumbs up. He returned his gaze back to the old man.

The elder ignored his comment and gestured to his old teammate to proceed in taking over. He stepped back to give her room.

Koharu stepped forward and watches him, "You have three choices that you can choose from, Uzumaki. These choices will provide us with which method you wish to carry your sin out." The blonde rolled his eyes at the word but didn't comment on it. "Your choices are: the slow method of putting you to sleep and inserting a drug that will stop your heart, being electrocuted, or being blind folded in front of a firing squad. The choice is yours."

'_Well, those sound charming...' _Kyuubi sarcastically remarked. '_**Which one are you going to be doing, kit? You only fake death once.' **_She added with a wink.

Naruto thought about his choices for a minute. The first option of being put to 'sleep' had nothing honoring about it. In fact, it sounded like the easy way out. Definitely not the one for him. The second was didn't sound half bad, neither did the third choice. It was a toss up between those two.

"Option three," Naruto answered without much thought to it. His voice held no emotion, making him sound lifeless.

Both elders nodded their wrinkled old heads. They gestured to the ANBU squad to go get in their positions. While they were doing so, one of the ninja that had been standing next to the Elder's when Naruto had first walked in, brought out a blind fold from his pocket and walked over the Naruto to cover his eyes. But right before the blue eyes were covered, they caught a glimpse of a look of victory from the elder's face and saw them mouth the word 'finally' before his eyes were covered and everything went dark.

**XxxxX Until next time! And woooh! A cliff hanger! XD Kind of! At least you know that next chapter will be interesting! **

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**Glaceon: I'm glad you liked it! :) I'm giving some thought in to my chapters, trying to make them really interesting, so I hope I did okay with this chapter. Kind of a mini cliffy at the end! :D Thanks for reading and enjoy the Yu-Gi-Oh! Stories. Though, I'll warn you, a lot of them suck, .'' Okay, pretty much all of them do. But still, enjoy them! And thanks again for reading and sticking with this story! **

**SWGGREENLIFE21: Oooh! If you start writing to your own story and post it, tell me about it! I'll be sure to look at it! :D And I thank you for taking the time in reading this and liking it. Makes me happy that I can finally please some people. ^^ Thank you for reading!**


	19. Death and Freedom

**I dedicate this chapter to the author known as dazdnconfusd730 and his/her story called Walking Corpse. If you're looking for a story to read, I highly recommend that! :D **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just my own characters! **

Death and Freedom

**Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke watched his best friend stand there like he didn't care what was about to happen to him. Lee, the ninja covering the blonde's eyes, was tying the blind fold as tightly as he could so there was no source of light coming in while Sasuke bit his cheek to keep from saying anything. He had to keep reminding himself that the plan was working and that his best friend wasn't really going to die. But, seeing the dobe in this position, this venerable was not something he would want to witness again. This was just flat out horrible.

Once the blind fold was on, Lee laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and guided him away from the group. Naruto stumbled along, but having more grace then most would have. They walked a little a ways and Lee stopped him several yards away from where they just were. A few yards in front of where Naruto stood, the ANBU were all standing in a line facing him. In each one of their hands were a few kunai for when they carried out the sentence.

From where he stood, Sasuke couldn't hear what Lee said to the blonde, but it was somewhere among the lines of get down on your knees. Naruto did so, all the while he kept his head up like he wasn't afraid of what was about to happen.

Lee made sure Naruto was in his position before walking back over to where he was just at. From there, Homura cleared his throat and said in a loud voice that echoed around the area, "Now, the act will begin." He tried to hide a smirk at what he said next, "Don't think of this as a punishment or an act of war," his sought out Gaara's who didn't look any different, "think of this as a favor to the world. With his death, we will be ridding ourselves of a demon."

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Keo smirk and heard him mumbled under his breath, "May your soul never rest in peace. Wonder this Earth forever alone or go rot in Hell where you deserve to be."

The Uchiha bit his tongue hard to keep from punching the sorry bastard in the face. He curled his hands into fists at his side and kept his eyes on his best friend. '_Be careful, Naruto.' _He thought and felt a small tug of concern in his gut.

Homura looked over to the ANBU who were waiting for their cue. He nodded his head.

**Naruto's mini POV**

He stared at the blind fold, seeing nothing but darkness. The guy who had put on his blind fold had left him and he listened to the elder speak. All the while he spoke, he kept his expression as blank as it could go, not showing any weakness or thoughts. He sat on his knees with his hands cuffed in front of him and waited.

There was a silence in which caused Naruto to feel a spark of nerves form in his stomach. Here he was, waiting for his moment to 'die' and he was just sitting here, doing nothing. He tried to even out his breathing so it wouldn't get caught anywhere and did an okay job at it.

_**'Just relax, kit.' **_Kyuubi's calm voice filled his mind, helping ease it. '**_It's about to be all over.' _**She could see what was happening without the need to 'see' through her hosts eyes.

He gave a mental nod of his head and breathed through his nose and slowly out through his mouth. From where he was, he listened with his ears (which were sharp thanks to Kyuubi) and heard everyone holding their breathes. He predicted most of his friends were looking away, not wanting to see the horrible sight about to come. He didn't blame them.

He heard it before it actually happened. The sound of more than thirty kunai's being hurled into the air with force behind it as it headed straight for the defenseless blonde. And every single of them hit their mark in less than a second. Kunai stuck out in either his chest, neck or arms, but none of them hit the face, as was procedure.

Naruto could only gasp in shock from the penetration of the kunai's striking him with a force that nearly sent him falling to his back. But with sheer luck, he kept himself up as straight as a plank. He wouldn't give in to falling back and show he was a wimp. He will stay up right and show he was strong, even after having many weapons embedded inside of him.

He gasped again when the shock was overridden with the sudden pain that just seemed to register in his mind. Using what little energy he had left, he forced his face to go back to expressing no emotions, even though for a second or two, it showed pain. He could feel hot liquid slide out from the corner of his mouth and more of the scarlet liquid leak out from his wounds.

There was two kunai embedded deeply in his neck. Blood poured from the wounds as he struggled to breathe with mouthfuls of air, but that only caused more pain.

Under normal circumstances, his wounds would already start to heal themselves thanks to Kyuubi. But with her chakra being cut off from his from the stupid cleansing device, he was going to get no healing treatment.

'_**Almost there, kit,' **_Kyuubi's voice sounded far away to him, even in his mind. It was like a huge building was separating them. He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't have the energy to as it was leaving him. As best as he could, he smiled.

As soon as he felt he only had a little of energy left to keep staying up on his knees, he felt an over load of chakra leave him.

**Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke could tell the elder's were a bit surprised to see Naruto still able to stay exactly as he was without falling. There was a twitch here and there on them as they waited. And waited...

After about two god awful silent minutes since the ANBU had thrown their kunai's, there was a change in the atmosphere. Before anyone could move so much as an inch or shift their weight, a blast of red chakra shot out of the blonde, causing everyone to brace themselves as if a huge storm was coming. Most ninja tensed at the source of unknown chakra, but then bristled when it hit them who it belonged to. The red chakra soared into the sky and when it reached it's highest peak, transformed to take the form of a fox, a fox with nine tails. It was in chakra form so it wouldn't (or shouldn't) be able to attack them, but the sight was horrifying. The last time they saw that form _that _huge, it was attacking their village.

Panic screams filled the arena as the fox growled out at them. Everyone's eyes were on the fox. Then, without a blink later, the fox moved it's head to the sky and let out a pain-filled cry as the form started to fade away.

"What the hell was that?" Koharu demanded, fear sparking through her like electricity. She turned her gaze, as did everyone else, to the blonde. But, he wasn't able to answer. He was on his side and didn't move, not even his chest rising and falling to determine he was still alive.

No one breathed as they watched Sasuke walk over to his best friend and knelt down next to him. He checked for a pulse and after a minute, he looked up with that same unreadable expression. What he said next chilled some people to the bones and had others let out a loud sob before they erupted with tears.

"He's dead." He looked back down and being as gentle as he could, took the cuffs off around Naruto's wrists and tossed them to the side, skidding all the way over to where the elders stood. They didn't move, didn't even think. They just watched the man pull the blind fold off of the man who used to be known as the loud mouth kid. Now, that name didn't even seemed to fit to see him so quiet.

Sasuke took the blind fold off and set the cloth to the side. Everyone saw Naruto's face, saw how peaceful it was. His eyes were closed for the last time and his lips were turned upward into a soft smile. He died peacefully and with a smile on his face. That smile, for reasons they couldn't figure out, seemed to embed itself into the elder's mind and made them think, was killing him the right thing to do?

The Uchiha stood up without a comment and disappeared from his spot. He reappeared a second later next to the Kazekage -who never moved- all the way on the stands, facing them. He continued to wear that unreadable expression but his eyes did shine with pain. Pain at seeing his best friend leave him for the second time.

Tsunade had stood on the other side of Gaara. Her arms were crossed at her chest and a deep frown animated her face. She took her eyes off of the boy who she loved as much as a son, and turned them to the elders. Making sure her voice wouldn't crack from strain and tears that threatened to fall, she said, "I hope you know what you just did."

It was dead silent as the elders' turned away from the body to the hokage. They seemed to recover from their shock and the thought that haunted them. The male spoke first, "After twenty-four years, we got rid of the nine-tails. I know what we did."

"She didn't mean that, you brainless old fool," Kiba dared to say. He was trying to hide his own tears and the only way he was able to was using anger to have them hide behind.

Both elders' turned to the Jounin with raised eyebrows. But, before they could respond to the rude out burst, Choju got to it first, "Must we spell it out for you? You just accepted war!"

"Not to mention losing some of your shinobi." The quiet Shino commented, his eyes unable to read as they hide behind his sun glasses.

Homura puffed out like a blow fish. "Now wait just here a minute. If you were to leave your village, you would be considered a rogue ninja and you would never be allowed to come back."

"Then I'll take them in," Gaara said, speaking for the first time since Naruto was brought into the room.

"What about your families?" Koharu asked, thinking that she got them. No one would leave their families. "What about your friends and neighbors? Your teachers?" She looked expectantly to the sensi's in the room as if they thought they would change their mind.

They all looked at them with disgust.

"In truth," Asuma said around his cigarette. He had his hands in his pockets and leaned forward against the railing, "I'll be following my old students." Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru looked at him with a smile and he grinned back. "I'm not going anywhere without them and they're not going anywhere without me. We're a team."

"And same goes for me!" Guy said with a serious smile. He put a hand on Lee's shoulder and the other on Tenten's. Neji stood a little behind the female but still close to the group to show that they were also still a team and that was how it was always going to be.

Kurinai, with her three old students and Akamaru surrounding her, nodded her head. "You won't be seeing me either."

The elders' skipped over Kakashi, knowing that he was with the rest of the group. Killing his student wasn't something he'd over look or appreciate so of course he wasn't going to stay. They landed their eyes on the only person who hadn't said anything yet. They bet he would stay.

"So, Iruka, what will it be?"

The shinobi turned to them with an angered expression. Why did they always think he would change his mind? He tried to keep his tone calm and relaxed, but that never went through. "Do you really expect me to stay here after you murdered an innocent man?" He yelled, grieving for the blonde. "Naruto is like a little brother to me. You just killed one of my family members, someone who I loved so much. Have you no heart?" He shook his head as his throat started to close on him. "Just like last time, my answer is the same; count me out."

The elder's looked at each other and shrugged. They thought they would be able to persuade him to stay, but after hearing him out, they definitely thought wrong.

Homura looked around the room and announced, "What is done is done; there is no turning back the clock. Naruto Uzumaki is dead. Now Gaara," he turned to the man, "we'll discuss your act of war in my office. I'm sure we can work something out."

Gaara said in a grim voice that sent shivers down their spines, "There is nothing to discuss. I gave you time to think about the war, but you ignored that time. You brought yourself into war and if I were you, I would get what men you have left ready." Without waiting for a reply, he spun on his heal and turned around, walking out and away from the arena. Everyone else all sent looks that could kill at the elder's before following the Kazekage out.

XxxxX

'_**Are you alright, kit?' **_Kyuubi's voice filtered his quiet mind after almost thirty minutes of silence. She was growing worried about her host by his non-talkative state. It wasn't like him to be this quiet, even to have his brain rid of all thinking. He always had something on his mind whether it'd be something important or something dumb like why the grass is green.

/I'm fine./ Came his short reply as he landed on a tree branch and half a second later, kicked off of it with a powerful thrust that sent some of the tree leaves to rustle. He soared through the air for several seconds and when his flight was decreasing, found another tree branch to kick off of.

It was silent for a couple of minutes; the two preoccupied with themselves to talk with each other. But, as the quiet dragged out again, the blonde gave a quiet sigh before he allowed his mind to wonder back to escaping the village that only happened an hour ago.

Flashback: 

"_You understand the plan, right?" Sasuke asked, kneeling down in front of the blonde in the prison cell. It was his and Neji's turn to guard the 'prisoner' so they took this opportunity to explain how Naruto was going to escape. This was probably the only time they'll get to have the time to explain._

_Naruto nodded his head, absorbing the plan into his head and etching it into his brain so he wouldn't forget, not like he could. "Why can't I just escape now?" He gripped and huffed out. He needed to save his sister right now and he couldn't do that locked up here. Not to mention his wrists and butt and legs were already asleep and the tingly feeling was making him annoyed. _

_Sasuke shook his head with the usual annoyed expression to him. He sighed and explained to him like he was talking to a five year old, "Because... it'll make it look like you actually died and the elder's won't expect a thing." He received a blank look. Already knowing Naruto was doing it on purpose just to see how far he could push it. He gritted his teeth and added, "You'll have a head start in escaping."_

_The Jinjuriki turned the plan over in his mind but not before grinning at the Uchiha. The plan sounded simple and easy. He would stay locked up until the day he would be sentenced to his death. On that day, Sasuke would come into the cell and unlock his wrists. At that moment, he would replace Naruto with a substitution while the real Naruto would stay behind and turn himself into a pebble on the ground. It'd be swift and efficient, as long as they both were paying attention. When Sasuke would leave with the fake Naruto, the real one would wait a couple of minutes until he couldn't hear anybody, and escape the cell and then the village. The fake Naruto would go through the whole execution and the clone would stay intact for a while even after being killed by whatever option he chose from. When his clone does poof away, Sasuke would be there and make another reappear to keep the image that Naruto Uzumaki was dead. _

"_You know," Sasuke suddenly said, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts, "I'm going with you this time."_

_Neji, who was watching the halls to make sure no one was coming, tried to tune his hearing away, to give the two best friends some time to talk. He knew how much his captain missed the certain blonde so what he was saying now was no surprise to him. But, as much as he tried not to listen, he found himself angling towards the two to get a better spot to listen. _

"_No." Naruto simply said and looked deep into his friend's eyes while his own blue ones narrowed. _

_Sasuke narrowed his own eyes at the response, but he was already expecting it. "I'm going whether you want me to or not." His mind was made up and it looked like there was no way to change it. The look in his eyes, the determination, would have left normal people to back down because they knew, no matter how much they argued, they wouldn't be able to change it. But, Naruto wasn't a normal person and he _knew _he could change the Uchiha's mind. _

_He shook his head. "No, you are not. You're staying here even if I have to knock you out senseless." He said. Sasuke stayed quiet, knowing that Naruto wasn't done yet. "You have a place where you can call home, a place where you know and are accepted. I'm not going to give you the chance to throw that away. I'm not going to let you become a rogue ninja again just because of me. This is my banishment, not yours. You're staying here."_

_The raven bristled at the answer. "The only reason why I came back here was because of you! Otherwise, I would have stayed with Orochimaru. I came back here because I knew you were here. You don't belong out there but here, in this village. You deserve better." His eyes narrowed even more and he hissed the last part. "And don't give me that bull shit where I am accepted here. Not everybody trusts me still! If anyone should have been banished, it should have been me. All I have done was betray my village. You, you did the opposite. You _**helped** _this village in more ways than I can think of. You helped this village more times than anyone I have known." _

_Despite everything he had said, Naruto just shook his head and closed his eyes. "You're not coming with me, Sasuke." He reopened them and his eyes seemed to revert back to normal. _

"_Why? Why is it that you won't let me come?"_

"_Because. You don't belong out there!"_

"_Neither do you!"_

_Naruto paused at that moment. His mouth was opened to argue back but no words came out. He already had arguments with himself about that one. But, he could never make up something to fight that. He knew that was true, that he didn't belong out there. Yeah, he had Gaara and the Sand but that wasn't the same. He didn't belong in another village because he had his own. But, he was kicked out of it... _

_Sensing that he didn't have an answer to his statement, Sasuke continued, "Why is it that when I had left, you were able to come after me? I almost tried to kill you, but you still came after me. Why won't you let me come with you?" His voice stayed cold and angry, but he had lowered it so he wouldn't be yelling anymore. _

"_There's more to this than you're letting on." Naruto simply said, using the softest of soft voices. His expression was calm with a hint of sadness in it. He blinked his eyes once. He knew his friend a little to well to know that there wasn't just one thing, but more than one thing bothering him._

"_How could you?" Sasuke asked. It seemed like all of the anger and hate and bitterness was washed out of him as his tone became soft with sadness in it. His voice almost broke but he made sure it didn't. This was probably the first and only time he had ever gone this close to breaking, and surprising, he didn't try to cover it up. He let his feelings out. "How could you have just left like you did? Without even saying anything?"_

_Naruto softly laughed and shook his head, confusing the raven but then angering him to where his sappy emotions were quickly masked by his anger. "This is no laughing matter, Naruto!" He hissed and grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to where only an inch was between their faces. _

_The blonde didn't do anything as his hands were chained up. He felt the hot breath of his best friend on his face and said with an emotional voice, "Did you think I didn't _**want **_to say goodbye?" He asked. He had his gaze firmly on Sasuke's and tried to relax. He ignored him having a tight grip on his shirt. "Do you know how hard it was to leave my home? My friends? My _**family**?" _He shook his head and looked away, afraid that the tears in his eyes were going to spill out. A lump formed in his throat from releasing his thoughts that he had bottled up inside him for the last four years. He swallowed a few times and said, "I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay, even if I never said it or acted it. You just don't understand. Things were hard enough as it was without even trying to say goodbye." _

_Sasuke bristled and his grip tightened again. He opened his mouth to argue back that he didn't even have to leave when Neji cleared his throat. "You could have at least left or send a letter." He said. Both men turned their gazes over to the Hyuga to find him watching both of them. _

_'**See?' **Kyuubi mused,** 'You should have sent them a letter! And you always say my advice never works...' **She huffed out. _

_Naruto looked away and shook his head, causing Sasuke to look back. "Look guys, I'm sorry about not saying goodbye or sending a letter. It was hard enough as it was with all of the shit that had been happening to me. Writing a letter wouldn't have done anything." There was a pause for maybe a second and then, "And Sasuke," He looked his best friend straight in the eyes and told him firmly, "you aren't coming with me." Before he could let him argue back, he added, "And that's final."_

_Sasuke looked ready to protest when Naruto suddenly turned his head to the left with a serious expression and whispered, "Someone's coming."_

_The ANBU captain released the blonde after several seconds of starring at him and stood up. He walked out of the cell and locked it up without another word. He went to the wall opposite of the cell and leaned against it with one leg propped up on it and his arms crossed at his chest. He closed his eyes and tilted his head downwards, looking as though he had been there all that time and not talking with the 'prisoner'. And all the while of doing that, he realized that he was going to have to stay here. He didn't know why, but something about the way Naruto spoke made him realize something... did the blonde not want him to come? _

End Of Flashback

Lost in thought, Naruto didn't realize he had stopped on a tree branch with one hand resting on the trunk of the tree. He was starring straight ahead of him, looking at nothing. There were tears in his eyes and they slid silently down his cheeks.

Not soon had he left his old village, he blew the cleansing device right off pf his stomach by channeling his stored chakra into it all at once. It was an overload for the thing so it exploded, leaving him free of it. And while he had been jumping from tree to tree, remembering the mental directions that formed in his mind from Sana signaling him with her necklace, he fused some of his own chakra into his bracelet to warn Gaara he was on his way to save their sister.

'_**Hey, kit?' **_

/Y-Yeah?/ Naruto blinked his eyes and shook his head a little, just realizing he had zoned out. He quickly rubbed his eyes to rid himself of his tears.

'_**You need to be moving if you want to find Sana.' **_Kyuubi's voice gently reminded him. She had been reading her host's mind and realized what was going through his brain/ Not wanting to disturb him, she kept quiet and watched around to ensure no one was around and wanted to ambush him.

Naruto nodded his head and kicked off of the tree once again. /Right.../

'_**We're about a day away from Orochimaru's lair from what Sana's message read. If she hadn't been moved, then we'll be there soon. I suggest you summon your extra help when we get within an hour of there.' **_

Naruto nodded. He had already thought of that. If you were planning on breaking into someone's lair where it was bound to be full of ninja, might as well go prepared and have some others help.

With the thought of his sister and saving her on his mind, Naruto found new strength in him and picked up the pace. "Don't worry, Sana; I'm on my way. And this time, no one's stopping me."

**XxxxX Till next time!**

**Reviews:**

**Glaceon: Aww, I'm glad you liked it! :D I'm trying to really put everything I have into the chapters now. Trying to focus my thoughts in this story (mostly so I can finish it!) But I'm really glad you liked it! And just so you know, I love writing cliffies! They're fun! :D Thank you!**

**DRAGON: Hey! :D :D :D Glad to see you again. X3 And to answer your reviews (though you'll not see them for a while... lol) But, yes, the elder's suck. I'm trying to get people to really hate them! :O And Kyuubi is a girl because... well, I really don't know why. It might be because I just really like the fox as a girl. It'd be weird if it was a boy for this story. And don't worry, all of my earlier posts are in the past. So you don't upset me with any questions. And Mr. Blue... I kind of forgot about him. XD But yeah, he was. But, it just makes me want to write more. ^^ **

**And for school, I don't do S.T.A.R... I am in the class that is continuing with TAKS. And hopefully, this'll be my last year. -fingers crossed- And don't worry, I suck in math too. I hate it so much! I took them this week, and today was the science. I think I failed that one. :/ Thanks for liking the story though!**


	20. Releasing the Foxes

**You know something... I think I forgot to add Sai in here. :O I feel so bad! Sadly, I have to leave him out since I'm already so far in.**

**When Kyuubi talks it's going to continue to be in italics and be bold. When the foxes talk, it will just be bold so you know who's who. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my own characters. ^^**

**Releasing the Foxes**

**Temari's POV**

"You may stay here for as long as you'd like, all costs taken care of." Tsunade of the Leaf said. She was sitting at her desk in her office, her frame leaning forward a bit with her elbows on the wood and her fingers crossed in the air. She had the look of total exhaustion about her but her eyes shone with relief. Naruto had made it safely out of the village without being detected by the ANBU or the elders. He was free with everyone thinking he was dead.

"Thank you, Hokage." Temari slightly bowed in appreciation. "With all due respect, I think it's best if we head back as soon as –,"

"No," Gaara interrupted his sister who straightened back up and looked over to him, frowning a bit. "We'll take your offer and stay a few more days." Temari looked ready to question her brother about the sudden urge to stay when he continued on with what he was saying, "Thank you for your hospitality and everything you have done." He gave the smallest of bows, showing his true appreciation before spinning on his heel and exited the office without another word.

Kankuro turned his gaze to his sister with a questioning stare before shrugging and walked after his brother. There were just some things he wouldn't understand about his baby brother.

Temari stood in her spot, not moving for a minute or two. She wondered what he was planning now. She shook her head to clear it, knowing that whatever it was, she should just go along with the flow. Never once had she known Gaara to do something without a reason so why was she questioning him now? Quickly, she retreated out of the room to catch up with her brothers.

**Rookie Nine's POV**

"I can't believe we'll never see him again..." Rock Lee admitted, sitting on the ground with his knees brought up and his chin resting on them. He pick at the grass that grew all around him.

Ino looked around at her friends who she pretty much grew up with. All of their expressions were sad and down by the loss they just witnessed not even an hour ago. She didn't really know the blonde that well, but he was part of their group and he was always hyper and energetic and always had a smile on his face. They were friends.

"Cheer up guys," She said, though she voice lacked the cheerfulness it needed to help the mood lighten up. "Just think, he's in a better place. And..." Tears filled her eyes as she realized that she would never see him again, "Oh forget it." She turned away from the group and sat down on the grass right next to Choji, bringing her knees all the way up to her chest. She buried her face in her faces as silent tears slide down her cheeks.

The Chunins were all in the park towards the edge of the area. The benches closest to where they were sitting were all taken up by them, including the trees. Some stood, some sat and a few paced. No one was in the mood for talking. Hinata was still crying at her lost love, her chest buried in Kiba's chest as they sat on the grass. He stroked her hair, trying to calm her down as he himself looked off in the distance as he remembered all of the times he spent with the blonde. Akamaru was lying by his best friend with his head on his paws as a low whine vibrated from his throat. Hinata was one of the few who was taking it the hardest, but no one blamed her. Tenten and Neji were leaning against the tree together, the female leaning against her old team mate as she tried to find comfort without letting her tears show as the male looked lost in thought. Shino was sitting on Hinata's other side and had his hand on her shoulder to show support. Choji was picking at the grass in front of him, not even in the mood to eat anything. Shikamaru was sitting in the tree, his back against the truck and his head tilted downwards. He didn't say anything as he played with a twig in his hands.

Sakura and Sasuke were more off to the side, watching their friend's deal with the loss of their friend. Sakura wanted to tell them that everything was alright that Naruto was fine, but if she said anything, she could ruin the chances of everyone thinking he was no longer dead. She couldn't do that to him, not after everything he had gone through here. So she stayed quiet and hugged herself. She didn't have to play her sadness as she already was feeling lost that she wouldn't see her blonde comrade again any time soon.

Sasuke was the only one who held a neutral expression on his face. His arms were crossed at his chest and his posture stiff.

"I heard Gaara and his siblings were staying a couple of more days," Sakura whispered only loud enough for her remaining team mate to hear. She didn't look at him, only spoke to him. She needed to talk, even if it was random so she wouldn't let herself dwell in depression.

Sasuke barely nodded his head without attracting any attention to him.

"I wonder why though." She continued and bit the inside of her cheek in wonderment.

"Has to do with Naruto." Sasuke replied softly, keeping his voice low so only she could hear. From the corner of his eye, he saw the pink hair kunoichi look at him with a curious expression. "Why else would they stay?" He asked. That resulted in her nodding her head in understanding.

Sasuke closed his eyes for maybe a second and then reopened them. He uncrossed his arms as he turned around. "Hn. Whatever happens though, the next time I see that dobe, he'll be getting his ass kicked." Before Sakura had anytime to ask him anything, he walked away.

As Sakura watched the remaining Uchiha disappear out of sight, she bit her lip, knowing how much he was missing their friend. '_Just be careful Naruto. Don't come back here or things might get bad for you...' _She thought and closed her eyes. Her heart seemed frozen by what she had spoke, but she was only thinking of his safety. That was all that mattered anyways.

XxxxX

**Naruto's POV**

Crouching low in a bush with all of the leaves and branches protecting him from the open and un-wanted eyes, Naruto examined his surrounds. He was only a mile away from Orochimaru's hideout and there was no doubt about it that his goons were lurking around, protecting the entrance of their boss's base.

After a minute of examining his surroundings and getting the all clear from Kyuubi (who had been sensing for any chakra nearby but finding none), Naruto bit both of his thumbs and placed them on the tiny clearing before him and said in a soft voice, "Summoning Jutsu." Three black seals in the shapes of triangles appeared on the ground and stretched out before him. Fire appeared in each circle to form objects. When the smoke from the fire cleared away, the objects turned out to be three identical foxes with different colored eyes all sitting with their tails wrapped around their paws, starring at their summoner.

Not a second passed by when the foxes all bowed in unison and the one in the middle purred out, "**Fili, Kili, and Tili at your service, Taichou."**

Naruto only nodded his head to them in greeting before immediately launching into his explanation, "I'm about to break into Orochimaru's lair and I will need some backup from you three. I can trust you and you're fast to react. Listen up," Each fox straightened up and stared at him with unblinking eyes. "I will need one of you to stay here and the other two will come with me until I place you. Fili," He said to the female fox on the left. At the sound of her name, she twitched her ears. "I want you to remain here. I don't know how long I'll be gone for, but once you sense me coming in this direction, I'll need you to help me get away. This place will be heavily guarded, especially when I try to leave."

Fili nodded her head and in a soft but high pitched voice, she purred, "I will remain here until you come." Her green eyes stayed on his blue ones until he nodded and looked away, satisfied by her calm answer.

Not wasting a second, he informed the other two on where they would be stationed. Tili would stay hidden near the entrance while Kili, the one in the middle, would stay with him, helping him fight his way in and out of the lair.

"**This mission sounds dangerous," **Kili commented. He swished his tail from side to side in anticipation to get started. **"But we wouldn't miss it for the world." **

The blonde smirked at their eagerness to start. No matter what, he was able to rely on these foxes to help him with whatever he needed to do, without being challenged or questioned. "Good," he said, "Before we get this show on the road, I need to do one more thing." As if saying something to the foxes, the tricksters backed away to give the blonde some room. And that's when the hand signs started...

The hand signs started out rather slow to where a well experienced ninja could make them out. By the time he reached the seventh sign, they started to go faster. Each one seemed to pick up speed that not even the Sharingan would have been able to pick up which sign was which.

Fifteen hand signs later, the Jinjuriki bit his thumb (again) and, instead of slamming in to the ground, pushed it out in front of him into the air. There, the blood from his thumb seemed to seep out and make a bloody seal in the air, almost like it would if he made a normal summon on the ground.

The three foxes watched on in curiosity, wondering what their captain was about to do.

The blood came to a still as it stopped coming out of his thumb. This time, red chakra seeped out of his body and went straight to the seal, being absorbed by it in huge amounts. The chakra started to take form but it was still to early to make out what. Five seconds later, on the ground right underneath the seal, the shape of a small fox took form. It was about the size of a month old kitten if you were trying to compare it to anything. But, instead of picturing a kitten, this fox had two tails and was the color of blood with black around it's eyes.

"**My King,"** all three foxes bowed even lower than they did for Naruto when they recognized what fox was before them. The King of all foxes, the most powerful animal on the planet sat before them, her head held up high. Despite the King supposed to be a guy and a Queen a girl, in this role, the highest power was announced King and that just so happened to be Kyuubi. She sat with her two tails wrapped around her paws and the feeling around her was powerful.

It wasn't two months after Naruto had been banished from his village when Kyuubi had summoned the Kitsune Contract scroll and had Naruto sign it. The foxes had been handy in his past and that was why Kyuubi had her kit sign it. Now, Naruto could summon toads _and _foxes.

'_**It's good to be out.' **_She said but then took no time in saying, '_**But we don't have time to waste. We have a mission to do and we will do it without wasting time and breath.' **_Her order was taken in with short and simple nods as the three foxes all straightened up and looked to Naruto for the next order.

Naruto rolled his shoulders back to rid himself of the stiffness and to push back the killing instinct he felt after summoning Kyuubi. His beautiful blue orbs narrowed into thin slits that reminded you of a cat and specks of red appeared into it.

"We've already wasted enough time. Now it's time to save Sana. Let's get this show on the road."

XxxxX

All the way to the entrance of the lair -which was just a hole in the wall but was camouflaged from the eye that you literally had to go up to the wall and touch it to find out that it indeed wasn't a wall but a hole- Naruto and his three companions met no one. There were no ambush, no guards, not even a squirrel running up the trees; no one.

"I don't like this..." Naruto muttered when they reached the entrance. He looked side to side, almost expecting an ambush to jump out right this second.

Kyuubi nodded in agreement as she looked around herself. '_**I was expecting some bloodshed **_**before **_**we even reached the entrance.'**_ There was disappointment clearly shown in her voice.

Naruto nodded his head to Tili and the fox ran off to their left in a red blur as he took his hiding place. Then, without further ado, the trio ran into the enemies hideout. Once they entered, still they didn't meet anyone. This place was like a ghost town.

But that didn't stop them. They didn't even pause as they barged in and ran. Kyuubi was in the lead, leading them through the maze of hallways without hesitating in her directions. Naruto was right behind her, having a sense of where he was going, but allowing the lady fox to go in front because he knew this was the first real thing she could do. And a step behind the human, Kili was right on his tail. He didn't exactly know where they were leading him, but he knew better than to ask questions so he kept his jaw closed and followed. And besides, he trusted his King to lead them. And the human too. If Kyuubi, the top fox trusted his vessel, a human, then he trusted him too.

They kept running in zigzags, some times feeling like they were just going in circles. But with Kyuubi picking up her speed just a smug, they all knew they were heading in the right direction.

It had been only a couple of minutes, five at most, when Naruto admitted, "This is getting a bit creepy..." His eyes darted from hallway to hallway as they passed by it. They still hadn't met a single soul that wasn't themselves and he had a suspicion that they were in the wrong hideout.

'_**This is the right one.' **_Kyuubi said without bothering to look over her shoulder. She had been reading her kit's thoughts. '_**There are people here, I can sense them. They are just far away.' **_

"**Then why are the hiding?" **Kili asked out loud, speaking for the first time since Kyuubi had been summoned. He glanced around and barely stuck his nose in the air. He could sense and smell people, but couldn't pin point on where they were. The ninja were hiding themselves. So... they knew they were here.

'_**Wait!'**_Kyuubi suddenly put on her brakes and raised her head to the air, sniffing furiously like a tracking dog. Naruto and Kili paused a second after her and kept quiet as they waited. They both looked around, noticing that the hallway they were in had doors. They were right in front of one and it looked like the rest of the others; tan and plain. Kyuubi looked at the door and said with her lip curling back some, '_**I smell Sana behind this door.' **_

Naruto took one look at the door and balled his right hand into a fist and brought it back. Without further ado, he swung his fist forward and it slammed into the door.

Wood splinters filled the air, along with dust and wood chippings. Not giving it time to settle down and for the air to clear, Naruto and the two foxes ran into the room. A kunai was in the human's hand while both foxes had their teeth bared and claws out. What they found in the room was not what they were expecting.

"You do realize that the door was unlocked." A voice said. When the smoke cleared, the person who talked was sitting in a chair at the other side of the room, looking comfortable and like he had been sitting there for a while. And that man just so happened to be Orochimaru. Standing right next to him on his right was his most trusted (partner?) who had a calm look about him. Though he did have a smirk on his face. On Orochimaru's other side, his left, was a woman. She looked a bit familiar with her blonde hair pulled back into a bun behind her head. She had no reaction on her face, but she looked a little bored. And all around the walls of the room were more people. They looked like regular shinobi but none of them were wearing any headbands. They never moved but most of them were grinning with lust in their eyes. Every single pair of eyes were on the newcomers.

Naruto glanced around the room, his eyes not stopping on anyone for more than a second before moving on to the next person. He could tell by just looking at them that they were antsy for battle. After doing a three second examination, his eyes returned to Orochimaru with eyes that could kill. "Where is she?" He growled so low that his chest rumbled.

The room was dead silent as nobody moved or said anything. All eyes were on the elder.

Orochimaru didn't even twitch but smiled and said in a calm voice, "Where is who, Naruto?" His voice was as smooth as honey and it made the blonde want to gag. But he didn't have time for that.

"Sana, you bitch! Where is my little sister?"

"Ah, that makes more sense. I didn't know who you were talking about." The snake summoner lifted his hand up off of his arm rest and gave a hand motion before placing his elbow on the rest and relaxed his head on top of his hand.

Both Naruto and the foxes tensed as if something was about to attack them. But that went unnoticed by everyone as Kabuto turned around and walked over to a door that Naruto never noticed when he first came into the room. He opened the door and stood aside. Two figures, one tall and the other shorter, walked into the room. The taller of the two was dressed in a white lab coat with normal clothes on underneath it and the shorter of the two was in her normal ninja attired except for many, many tears and blood stains everywhere on it. And she just so happened to be...

"Sana!" Naruto sighed in relief to see that she was still alive and... well, mostly well. But, his relief was soon replaced by anger as the dry blood caught on to his attention and he noticed what situation she was in.

Sana's eyes were cast downward and she was walking with a limp to her. Her clothes were tattered and torn everywhere and besides the blood stains, dirt was covering her from head to toe. She looked pale to the eye and all over her were scratches and gashes that weren't covered. Instead of her hair being pulled back into a high pony-tail, the band had come out and her beautiful long brown hair was limp and lost some of it's shine. It was dirty and messy. On her right leg in the middle of her calf, fresh blood was oozing down.

"What did you do to her?" Naruto almost screamed, anger radiating off of him in waves. His eyes were a bit widen and he held his breath, almost scared that if he breathed, someone would hit her.

'_**I wonder why my chakra isn't healing her...'**_ Kyuubi said though only Naruto could hear her. She voice sounded frustrated.

Orochimaru tilted his head a little to look at his prisoner without lifting his head up off of his hand. He took maybe a minute to look at her before returning his gaze back to his guest. "Oh, a little of this and a little of that. We had to break her in."

"For what?"

The person who was in front of Sana, the doctor looking man, was the one who answered, "We had to test her of her abilities, and I am quite proud to say that she is exactly the type of person who we're looking for. She's capable of so much." His eyes gleamed with greed as he thought about Sana and her unique chakra.

After seeing the confusion written all over his face, Kabuto explained, "Like you, she will be joining us. You both will become a nice addition to our army."

Naruto tensed and narrowed his eyes a little more. "We're not joining any army of yours." He declared. "You will release my little sister now or you'll have me to answer to. And I'll warn you now, I'm a lot more powerful than the last time we had met."

A chuckle was met to his threat and the blonde turned to the woman standing right next to Orochimaru. The back of her hand was covering her mouth and she shook his head. She told him, "That's so not how you communicate with us."

The Jinjuriki glared daggers at her and demanded, "And just who the hell are you?" Then quietly to himself, he wondered why she looked so familiar.

"Antigone is my name." She answered and gave him a small bow. "We met a few days previous and had a battle together." She looked back up and smirked at him.

The blonde haired man didn't say anything, but now he clearly remembered why she looked so familiar. Back when he was leaving the Leaf village with Sana and she was being kidnapped, he fought with a woman who made one of his attacks vanish from thin air. So this was her...

"Naruto..." A soft voice whispered. The room got quiet as everyone turned to Sana.

Said name quickly removed his eyes from the blonde haired woman and sought out his sister. His expression relaxed a bit when she had looked up and met his eyes.

Instead of talking in English, she switched to French so she could say anything she wanted to without anyone knowing what it was she was saying. She said, _"Quel est votre plan?" (("_What is your plan?"))

He had to ignore the way his sister's voice sounded dull and a little hoarse. He answered her in the same tongue, "_Vous sortir d'ici. Ecoutez, quand je dis maintenant, je veux que vous et Kyuubi pour se __teleporter hors d'ici et de retourner a le Village de Konoha." ((_Getting you out of here. Listen, when I say now, I want you and Kyuubi to teleport out of here and to go back to the Leaf Village.")) On his way here, he figured that if he knew his step-brother as well as he did, then the Sand siblings would stay in the Leaf for a couple of more days just in case.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow but didn't question what they were talking about. For once, he was actually clueless on what was being said and didn't feel like knowing what they were talking about. He had never heard the language before and found it a bit entertaining.

However, Kabuto narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. He has heard of this language before but he didn't understand it. It was something from his past. But, that was besides the point. What were they talking about? Was it something important? He looked over to his master (A/N if that's what you wanna call it), seeing if he was going to do anything about it like stop it. What he got slightly confused him.

Kyuubi, who also understood the language perfectly, nodded her head to herself. Using one of her many skills, she shrank backwards, using her chakra to blend herself in with the shadows. No one noticed just like she planned. As she was completely hidden, she went straight over to Sana and jumped onto her shoulder without causing her any disturbance. She hid behind some of the teen's hair.

Sana didn't show any emotion as she said, "_Que ferez-vous? Je ne peux pas vous laisser ici!" ((_"What will you do? I can't leave you here!")) 

"_Je vais devoir les tenir occupes, mais ne vous inquietez pas, je serai juste derriere vous, d'accord?" ((_"I'll have to keep them occupied, but don't worry, I'll be right behind you.")) 

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Antigone blurted out, getting highly annoyed that she couldn't understand what was being said. Her eyebrow twitched and she glared at the only other girl in the room before turning her eyes to Naruto.

Ignoring her, Sana barely nodded her head, her eyes looking more and more tired by the minute. _"Mais, Je... Je ne me souviens pas ce que le village ressemble. Comment vais-je trouver le bon endroit?" _(("But, I... I don't remember what the village looks like. How will I find the right place?")) Her bottom lip quivered a bit.

Before Naruto could answer, Kyuubi whispered in her ear in French, _**"Je vais vous guider la-bas." **_(("I will guide you there."))

Naruto nodded and continued on, "_Rappelez-vous simplement Tsunade, la dame qui vous a gueri. Elle a les cheveux blonds et un bijou au miliee de son front." ((_"Just remember Tsunade, the lady who healed you. She has the blonde hair and a jewel in the middle of her forehead."))

Sana looked away for a second so her brother wouldn't see her tears. "_Je... Je ne me souviens d'elle..." _(("I... I don't remember her..."))

"_**Je vais vous aider." **_Kyuubi purred and placed a paw on the teens neck for comfort. Nobody still couldn't see her.

The Jinjuriki could tell that the all powerful fox transferred the image of Tsunade to his sister because she looked back to him with remembrance. She barely nodded her head but before she could say anything, Naruto beat her to it, "_Quand vous y arrivez, je veux que vous trouviez Gaara et rester avec lui. Ne laissez pas la vue. Je vais essayer d'etre la des que possible. Quand je ne vous y rendre, nous irons dans un endroit loin, un endroit ou on peut se detendre, Juste les deus... trois d'entre nous." _(("When you get there, I want you to find Gaara and stay with him. Don't leave his sight. I will try to be there as soon as possible. When I do get there, we'll go some place far, some place where we can relax. Just the two... three of us.")) He added, remembering about the fox (even though she wouldn't be out like she was now.) "_Nous ne ferons pas toutes les missions. Il va juste etre un temps pour s'amuser et faire n'importe quoi. Est-ce que ca te va?" (("_We won't do any missions. It'll just be a time to have fun and do whatever. Is that alright with you?")) He saw his sister nod her head once more and felt a little relieved. After that moment passed, he turned his attention away from her and he glared at Orochimaru.

"Release her!" He growled in English. Next to him, Kili tensed and arched his back, ready for the signal to attack.

"And why would I do that?" Orochimaru asked in a calm voice that just caused Naruto to grow annoyed. Around the room, the ninja lining the walls all shifted their weight, all of them already sensing a battle. They became restless and wish some action would already take place instead of all of this boring talk. They weren't here to talk, they were here to fight!

"Because," he said, his expression changing a bit to where he wasn't being so hostile anymore. "I'll make you a deal." He could tell from the snake man's expression that he was slightly interested, but still on his guard even if it didn't look it. Naruto cleared his throat and declared, "Release her and I'll remain."

Sana's eyes widened in horror as she heard the news. Her head spun as she managed to squeak out, "No!"

Naruto ignored her as his eyes remained on the other, his eyes unwavering. "What say you?" He asked.

The boss in the room thought for a minute and watched the Jinjuriki just stand there, not fidgeting or showing any sort of nervous habit that could be used as a lying movement. After about a tense moment on both sides, he said, "Why why would I do that when I can just have my way and have two powerful ninja on my side?" He raised an eyebrow in questioning.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see the enemy ninja start to move to form a circle around him. Both he and they knew what was about to take place in just a couple of minutes. He flickered his eyes over to the hiding fox and gave a small nod of the head that wouldn't have been caught by anyone before turning his glaring gaze back to Orochimaru.

"I don't know," he said, "I just thought it sounded good." He smirked and then yelled in French, "_Aller! Je serai juste derriere vous!" _((Go! I'll be right behind you!")) In one movement, his hand reached deep down inside his pouch and pulled out two kunai in which he flickered them both towards the doctor that was standing to close to his sister. Both of them hit their marks and landed deep into the doc's neck, killing him instantly. As soon as he had thrown his kunai, Kabuto had done the same thing.

Naruto managed to dodge the kunai hurled at him and only had time to watch both his sister and his fox disappear in a firer flash. The last thing the blonde heard from them was Kyuubi growling out, '_**Be careful, Kit.'**_

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**Some of the french might not be correct because of the computer I'm on won't let me do the accents. Sorry about that. :/ I tried. **

Meaning:

Taichou**: (Captain)**

**DRAGON: **Aww, thank you! :3 And trust me, my brothers would do the same thing. I have more of redneck brothers so when I bring home a guy, they'll be cleaning their guns. (Makes me think of the country song by Rodney Atkins) And to answer your question, no, I'm not a multi- linguial. I only know English. The French is courtesy of my cousin who lives in France and the Japanese is from the Google Translator. :) And yeah... no one likes Keo. Everyone wants him dead. Lol. Don't worry, I'm planning a gruesome death for him. ^^ And I love responding to my readers. Gives me a chance to talk to them and for their input. (And you made me blush for the genius comment! No lie!) Thanks for reading and reviewing! And sorry it took me so long to update! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	21. Holding Out

**I want to warn you once again that my battle skills ain't the best and I rather suck at it. Something I need to improve on, I know. But that's just your heads up. And also, any time Naruto gets hurt, it's to show that he's not totally invincible. My Naruto is strong, yes, but he's not the strongest ninja of all time. … So yeah. On with the story now and enough of my pointless blabber. **

**One more thing, there's an important note at the very end of the chapter. Please read it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any thing from it. I just own my own characters.**

**Holding Out**

**Naruto's POV**

The kunai Naruto had dodged was just a decoy and the real one was aimed right for his face. Luckily for the blonde, he was paying attention but only managed to move his face to where the kunai grazed his cheek instead of puncturing his skin. A line of blood surfaced on his face and flowed downward. Wasting no time over the wound, Naruto crossed his hands together and shouted out his signature jutsu, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** The room filled with a dozen new people, all looking exactly like Naruto. Without waiting for an order, they all launched themselves into battle with the enemy ninja.

Kili, who had launched himself into battle a minute before the clones did, was viciously biting a man's leg. Blood gushed out and into the foxes mouth, but he didn't care. He sank his fangs in deeper and started to twist his head to the sides, almost taking the man's leg off if it hadn't been for his boss whistling for him. He let the man go, ignoring his screams of agony as he sank to the ground, clutching his leg.

When it looked as though all of the enemy ninja were all launched in battle, Naruto took his chance to escape. He spun on his heel and headed back to the opening he created not even twenty minutes earlier and ran through. Kili was already on his heel and together they ran right, the way they had come.

"Which way?" Naruto asked as he threw several kunai at a ninja who was walking the other way. The ninja, thoroughly confused, sank to the floor, wondering what was going on.

The small fox glanced at his surroundings before saying, "**In a hundred feet, take a right and then a immediate left. Keep running until you reach the first right and take it." **

With the directions being given, Naruto nodded his head in understanding and followed the foxes instructions. One reason why he chose Kili to stay with him was because the little fox had one of the sharpest memories in all of the Fox Clan. If you had this fox with you, there was no way you could get lost. That's why Naruto kept him, so he could lead him out of this god forsaken maze and back to the forest. There was no way that he, Naruto, would make it out by himself.

No matter how fast the two ran, they kept encountering the enemy. They all kept appearing out of nowhere and waiting for the two. Naruto couldn't decide if they were the ones from the meeting room or if they just happened to hear that there was an intruder in the building that needed capturing. Either way, all it did for him was cause a delay of escaping.

"**Just a few more turns, Taichou," **Kili informed after wounding a woman in the leg to where she would never be able to walk normal again. He had blood dripping down his muzzle as he ran. A dangerous gleam was placed in his eyes and he shook his head to try to get some of the warm substance off of his fur.

Naruto only nodded his head, not feeling like he should speak. In the back of his mind, he felt the twelve clones he created not very long ago all being defeated. The last clone remaining before it was slaughtered, Naruto saw through his eyes that the rest of the enemy ninja left in the room were pursuing after him. All except for one who remained unmoving as he sat down in his chair. Orochimaru. The snake summoner hadn't moved one inch of anything on his whole body. He didn't twitch, his facial expressions remained the same and he just seemed like a statue. The man wasn't surprised about anything Naruto had said or did.

Just before the clone vanished, Naruto caught sight of Orochimaru changing his expression last minute. He was smiling. That caused the blonde to shiver from the creeps but he tried his best to place it out of his mind and to just concentrate on retreating out of this hellhole.

"Lord Orochimaru doesn't want you to leave." One guy that suddenly blocked Naruto's path barked. He tried aiming a punch towards Naruto's stomach but the blonde was much smarter than him and had already foresaw that. Naruto was able to jump upwards to safety just as the fist was swung. When the enemy realized he had missed, he never had anytime to prepare himself for the next blow when the blonde came crashing down on the man's shoulders, knocking him out.

The Jinjuriki didn't linger any longer than necessary to see if the guy was okay (and if he wasn't dead) as he poured on sped and zigzagged through the maze.

"**Almost to the exit." **Kili informed a minute later.

Just as the two were turning a corner, Naruto felt a sharp pain embed itself into his right arm. He hissed out in pain and turned to find a kunai with an exploding tag tied to it there. Quickly, he pulled it out with a grunt and threw it behind him, not waiting to watch the explosion bring down a portion of the roof.

"I'm going to murder whoever did that." He growled and felt the pain grow a little. He didn't have Kyuubi with him to heal his wound and he had to suffer through the pain.

Kili grinned as they continued on, "**Maybe next time, Taichou," **He purred.

With the entrance only a few yards in front of them when they turned, Naruto was about to reach into his pouch on his hip to pull out some paper bombs when something caught his eye, forcing him to put on the breaks and stop his run. Because his inertia was so great from the run, he ended up falling and rolled a good ways until gravity caused him to step.

He barely moved and he felt a dull pain in his back and sides. He held back a groan when a chilling voice sounded about all of the noise.

"Come come, Naruto; you didn't think I'd make it _that _easy for you to escape, do you?" Orochimaru asked, standing calmly, blocking the entrance out of here. Standing behind him was at least fifty or so ninja, all smiling at him and looking eager to start the battle. All of them looked full of energy and uninjured.

'_Shit.' _Was all Naruto thought.

XxxxX

**Tsunade's POV**

The Godaime Hokage leaned back in her chair with a loud sigh. The day had gone from bad to worse with each passing minute. Every since Naruto had left, she had been worrying about him but had to keep it all a secret. No one except for a few people knew that he still lived and it was hard to keep that image alive. It was definitely hard with all of the reports she was receiving from her ANBU scouts and some ordinary people in her village. Somehow, word had gotten out that the Leaf village was going to execute Naruto and many villages like the Wave and the Land of the Snow had sent angry reports saying they couldn't do that. Sadly though, they didn't know that the 'execution' had already taken place. Boy was she going to be earning more hate mail from the villages. But it wasn't only other villages that was causing her trouble. The reports she had from her own villagers were complaints. Apparently a few groups of villagers were celebrating too much about the 'death of the nine-tails' that they were disrupting others. And being the Hokage, she had to take care of all of this before it got out of hand.

"It's all their fault..." She rubbed her aching temples as she muttered that to no one but herself. Because of the elder's she had not only her normal hokage duties (like the lovely paper work) but now she had to take care of other annoying tasks.

She groaned again before yelling, "SHIZUNA!"

The door to the room opened not a minute later and a petite young woman with short brown hair poked her head through. "Yes?" She asked in a polite tone. She knew her sensi was in a fowl mood with the loss of Naruto once again so she knew she had to be careful on how she used her tone. Next to her at her feet, a young pink pig wearing a black kimono looked around.

"Get me something to drink." Tsunade said without even glancing up. "Preferably something strong." She knew she was going to half to respond back to the angry villages reports sooner rather than later. "And get me something for this headache while-," Cutting her off was a a strange noise, a noise that sounded like fire with the crackling and everything. Ignoring her aching head, Tsunade jumped to her feet with her eyes wide opened.

Standing in the middle of the room with her back turned to the hokage, was a young girl. Or, what Tsunade could tell she looked young. All she could see was the waist long brown hair and many, many cuts and blood all over her. She was trembling and Tsunade doubted it was from the cold.

No one in the room moved but there was a small flicker from the girls hair like something was moving it.

"Who are you?" Tsunade barked, tired of people entering her office unannounced. Only a few people were allowed to do that and one of them were 'dead'. From the corner of her eye, she saw her student reaching for a kunai from her kimono.

Slowly, the trembling girl turned around, keeping her face glued to the ground. But that was enough for Tsunade to recognize her, even though she had only seen the girl once, several days ago.

"Shizuna, go get the Kazekage. Now." She ordered and wasted no time to see if her student left as she rushed from around her desk over to the young girl.

Said name stopped reaching for her weapon and without questioning, hurried out of the room, closing the door right behind her. She could tell from her old mentor's voice that she was to hurry without asking questions.

Tsunade made it to the girl and crouched down in front of her so they could be eye level with each other. She spoke softly, all violent emotions long gone. "My name is Tsunade of the Leaf. Do you remember me?"

"K-kind of..." Sana whispered and looked up with her tired eyes. She felt a little drained from teleporting since she hadn't used her chakra for so long. And before Naruto had come to save her, she had to do another one of those tests to try and get her to use her power.

"I'm the one who healed you," Tsunade told her. She examined the girl and noticed how exhausted she looked. But not only that, she noticed all of the wounds that needed to be healed and then the scars. The girl was streaked with dirty like she hadn't taken a shower in days and she looked like she was about to fall over. One thing that interested the elderly woman was a strange collar looking thing around the girl's neck. Had that always been there?

Shaking that thought out of her head, she gently told the girl, "C'mon, you need to sit down and regain some strength." She stood up straight, ready to lead the girl over to the wall closest to her desk.

"B-but, Naruto." Sana tried to object but she let the hokage lead her.

When they reached their destination, Tsunade helped the girl sit down against the wall when she frowned, just catching onto the protest. "What's wrong with him?" She felt her heart skip a beat as she remember just where Naruto went to to save his sister.

Before the exhausted girl could answer, the door flew opened and hit the wall with a loud bang. Temari rushed inside the room (unannounced) followed by Kankuro and Gaara. A pace behind them was Shizuna but she only stayed long enough to close the door so she wouldn't be interrupting no matter how much she wanted to know what was going on.

Seeing her adopted kin, Temari cried out, "Sana!" Said name looked up but didn't have time to say anything as Temari was at her side and had her arms wrapped around the still trembling girl. She petted her hair as she hugged her tight.

"A-aunt T-emari..." Sana managed to say as she hugged the older woman back.

"What happened?" Gaara looked directly to the hokage for answers. His expression was too hard to read after catching a glimpse of the condition Sana was in. He walked over until he was standing right behind Temari, Kankuro bending down with his sister trying to help sooth the girl.

Tsunade stayed crouching besides Temari but out of the way of the siblings. She poured chakra into her hands until they glowed blue and she hovered them over Sana to heal the worst of wounds. "No idea," she said to Gaara without bothering to look at him. "She just appeared in my office a couple of minutes ago. I sent Shizuna as soon as I recognized her."

"N-Naruto..." Sana repeated softly.

Temari pulled away but remained close to the broken girl. She brushed some hair out of the teen's face and gently asked, "What was that?"

But once again, she never got to explain when someone interrupted her.

"Hokage, any word yet?"

Everyone in the room turned their heads to the door and found Sasuke Uchiha standing there. He had his mask on but was facing towards the side to where you could see his face. He was looking around the room with his eyes until they located Sana. When his eyes caught sight of her, his expression became unreadable and without receiving an answer, he turned and left the room.

With a confused expression, Kankuro shook his head and looked back to his adopted sister. "As you were saying?"

Only loud enough for Sana to hear, a voice purred right next to her voice, '_**Let me answer.' **_Sana barely nodded and there was a small flicker of her hair.

Before anyone could react, a chakra signature made itself known but only to those in the room. They immediately knew who it was even before she spoke. But her deep, powerful voice confirmed their thoughts when she said, '_**My kit had stayed behind at Orochimaru's lair to ensure no one would follow.' **_Kyuubi said and appeared on the younger's shoulder, full view. She smirked when she saw Tsunade quietly gasp.

"He's not still there, is he?" Kankuro asked. He was a bit surprised to see the fox out without Naruto being around, but he knew it could be done. The bond between vessel and monster was strong, a lot stronger than most (besides Bee).

Kyuubi shook her head. '_**I have no idea. Once he released me, I am no longer in possession of his thoughts, whereabouts, or condition. If he gets hurt, I can't even heal him.' **_She hopped down from Sana's shoulder and sat down right in front of her where she had view of everyone and they could all see her. She wrapped her tails around her small frame and stated in a calm voice, _**'I know that he is on his way though. That much I am sure of.' **_

"H-he said he wo-would be r-right b-behind me." Sana whispered and cast her eyes downward.

"And he will." Temari soothed her. She shifted and sat right next to her against the wall before pulling her in for a hug. Sana rested her head on her aunt's shoulder.

Tsunade was almost done healing the worst of the wounds when she noticed that some of the smaller ones were being healed. She wasn't even doing those ones yet. But, she didn't question it. As she healed, she would every so often glance at the fox. Never had she ever seen the fox _this _small before and she never would have thought it would be possible either!

Kyuubi smirked inwardly when she felt eyes upon her. She looked over to the hokage and gave a friendly glare, _**'You have nothing to fear, Hokage; I won't attack your village if that is what you're thinking. No matter how much it deserves it, I don't think Kit would appreciate it, not would I ever hear the end of it from him.' **_Casually, she turned away and began to bathe her paw.

Tsunade blinked her eyes and paused for a minute, not sure how she was supposed to respond to that. Was it like a threat? Because that's what it kind of sounded like. She was still trying to get over the fact that the nine-tailed fox was sitting in front of her, back in the Leaf.

"Sana," Gaara said as softly as he could. Sensing what her brother was about to do, Temari released Sana easily and got out of the way. Gaara knelt down in front of the teen and looked her straight in the eyes, "If he said he'll be right behind you, then he will." He told her, knowing that the girl was doubting the blonde. His voice was soft like no one have thought possible but he still had a reassuring tone to it.

"B-but," she tried to say but he cut her off.

"He keeps his promises."

Tsunade finished healing the worst of the wounds (since the others were being healed on their own) and stood up. She backed away, back to her desk, feeling like she was intruding in their space. When she sat down at her desk, she turned her chair so she could look out the window, becoming lost in thought.

Sana only nodded her head. She pulled her legs up to her chest, feeling better but at the same time she was still exhausted. Resting her head on her knees, she wrapped her arms around her legs and let out a sigh. She knew Gaara was right, but on the inside, she was scared for her brother. Having been with Orochimaru, she knew what he was capable of. She didn't want any of that happening to Naruto. Even if he could take care of himself, it was still possible.

Gaara stood up, knowing the girl needed some alone time. He looked over to his two blood siblings who met his eyes without him needing to say anything. A message seemed to pass between the three. Temari opened her mouth as if to argue but from the look her younger brother was giving her, she knew better and closed her mouth.

The Kazekage turned around to face the hokage, "Tsunade of the Leaf," being addressed, said name turned back around in her chair and gave him her full attention. "Thank you for coming to get us. We'll be going back to our room now." He didn't want to bother her anymore than necessary and he knew Sana was going to need some place to rest that was more comfortable.

Tsunade nodded her head. "Right." She glanced over to the girl she just healed and noticed she wasn't stirring. "If you want, you can stay here until he arrives. Knowing him, he'll expect you to stay in here." She didn't want to use his name anymore just in case if someone was listening.

'_**The old hag is right; you should stay here.' **_Kyuubi said and looked up. She laid her now clean paw down on the floor and ignored the glare she was receiving from Tsunade about the nickname. It wasn't her fault Naruto's way of naming people rubbed off on her. '_**Kit will be coming straight here and will want to leave immediately.' **_She traded her eyes from looking at Gaara to Sana. '_**Besides, I doubt she'll want to move anywhere.' **_

Gaara took a minute to consider what the fox said. He could see the blonde doing just that. So he nodded his head and said, "We'll wait here until Naruto arrives."

XxxxX

**Naruto's POV**

He slowly rose to his feet and ignored the pain emitting from his backside. He kept his eyes faced forward and kept his emotions in check. He knew things had been too easy as he was retreating so this wasn't anything new or surprising. Just a little painful. Besides him, Kili was slightly panting but he had his back arched as he was ready for the signal to attack again.

"Knowing you," Naruto said, "I knew you were going to be planning a last minute trick." Without bringing any attention to his right hand, he moved it to hide his hand from view behind his back. Slowly, he gathered chakra into the palm of his hand.

Orochimaru smiled in a creepy way. "And what kind of person would I be if I didn't?" He crossed his arms loosely across his chest and his men behind him shifted restlessly.

From behind him, Naruto could hear approaching footsteps and judging from how loud the echo was, he could tell a lot of people were coming his way. He was now trapped in the hallway.

"So, Naruto," Orochimaru calmly said, bringing the blonde's attention back to him. "How about you just give up and surrender. It'd be a waste if you didn't and you end up dying."

The blonde rolled his blue eyes and snorted, "Yeah, like I'd so do that."

The snake simply shrugged his shoulders and challenged him, "It'll be easier for you. Just think, if you were to try to fight your way out of here, you'd become chakra exhausted since you don't have your tailed beast in you. You would be so exhausted that if you were able to escape from my hideout, I would just send my ninja after you. And they might even kill you since you wouldn't be able to escape from them. If you die here, what will become of your sister? Do you realize how lonely she'd be?"

Naruto ignored how Orochimaru sounded like he knew anything about Kyuubi leaving him. He thought about his sister and if he did somehow miraculously died, how alone she would be. "She'd have Gaara." He said, letting himself be played, all the while trying to keep everyone distracted. The people behind him were finally in their place but they were so oblivious, they never noticed the chakra building up in his palm. Stupid people.

"True, but she'll miss you." He continued, knowing that he was also being played. But he had to keep his own image up. "After all, you were the one who took her under your wing and made her family. You were the one who taught her everything she now knows. You were the one she's always with, the one who she wants to be with. If you would to die here, she would come back for revenge and then we'll end up capturing her. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

But Naruto wasn't going to give in one bit. He was finally ready for his attack so he was ending this conversation, "I'll tell you this, Orochimaru; I won't be dying anytime in the near future nor will I die by the hands of a creep. I'll never be yours to control and Sana never will either. So just get that out of your mind." He looked past the leader and yelled, "Tili, now!"

A loud explosion took place in the back of the enemies line. Following close behind the noise was the sound of claws scrapping against rock and the yell and screams of men as they were being injured.

Naruto didn't have time to give Kili the signal he was waiting for -as the fox had already launched himself into battle as soon as he heard the explosion- as he brought his hiding hand into view. In the palm of his hand was a small sphere of chakra glowing blue.

"Rasangan!" He yelled to the ninja now lunging towards him to tear him apart. He threw his chakra sphere to a group of ninja to his right and before anyone could dodge it, let alone yell in fear, it exploded, taking many ninja with it. No one, not enemy nor hero stopped to watch the injured or dead people as they continued on attacking.

Dust and dirt filled the air from the explosion. It was almost like a sandstorm and nobody could see where they were or who was around them. They stopped all battle. With everyone distracted, Naruto made his escape. Being blinded like everyone else, he concentrated on his hearing sense he had developed from his time with Kyuubi. Easily, he started to navigate where to go and where to step without bumping into people.

Using his normal voice, he said, "Kili, Tili, come." If he spoke any louder, someone was bound to hear him and pinpoint where he was. And since the foxes had sharp hearing, they would hear him and follow. He didn't stop running, even when he heard the howls of pain people were receiving from the foxes stop. He could hear some ninja start recovering from their shock from being blind and hear them trying to clear the air.

Before getting to far, Naruto felt a sharp pain enter his side as someone had thrown their weapon and managed to hit him. "Gah!" He yelped but didn't pause. "How are they hitting me when they can't see?" He angrily spat and reached behind him, pulling the kunai out of his side and tossing it to the ground.

He sensed the two foxes at his side after a minute of calling out to them. He couldn't see it (yet) but both of their muzzles were dripping scarlet.

'**How long do you think they'll follow us for?' **Tili casually asked.

Feeling a strip of fresh air and seeing a little bit of light, Naruto could tell they were about to reach the exit. But now wasn't they time to relax. Behind him, he saw the dirt was settling down and the air becoming clear. The enemies were regaining their sight back and were already pursuing after him.

He dodged a few weapons thrown at him and turned back to look forward. He shrugged his shoulders and responded, "Probably for a while. They'll think we'll tire or pass out from any wounds we have. I can already tell we'll be ambushed many times." They finally exited the place and ran out to the unfamiliar woods. Taking the path they had when they first enter the lair, they poured on speed to distance themselves a little.

Looking back once more, Naruto noticed the enemy ninja a couple of paces behind him. "I hope you two are up for more fighting. It doesn't seem like they'll be giving up anytime soon." He said and looked back ahead of himself.

One thing the blonde totally forgot about was one man. He was standing at the entrance of his lair watching the blonde retreat. Standing beside him was his trusted friend (?). "Kabuto," Orochimaru calmly said, "get the men and woman ready. I see it's time we paid a visit to my old village." He smiled and turned around and started back inside.

**XxxxX Until next time! **

**The plot is really picking up! I hope everything makes sense and is okay. **

**IMPORTANT: I'm pretty sure every or most of you heard about how FanFiction is going to get rid of a lot of stories that involved yoai, yuri, sex, rape, violence, song-fics, lemon and many, many more without even giving us any warning. There's a petition to stop this madness and I know a lot of people have signed it (I included). I don't want mine nor anyone's stories being taken down and forever lost. People have spent way to much time and effort for this to happen.**

**That's why a few of great authors and myself have decided to help take action to show that we're not going to accept to tear down our stories. We're going to do something about it instead of just sit on the sidelines and let this happen. So, we decided to have a BlackOut. On June 23rd, we decided to not get on FanFiction at all. No updating stories, no reading them, no betaing them, no nothing. On that day, we stay away from this site. **

**Why we decided to have a BlackOut is because if we can get enough people involved, then FF,net will notice and they'll lose money because of it. ((Personally, I didn't know they got money for people coming to this site... o.o'')) This will show them that we're not playing and we mean business. We'll protect our stories whatever means necessary. Why should we be punished because of a few kids reading p0rn here? **

**So how bout it? A whole BlackOut day where you just stay away from this site. I know most of you will think this is dumb, but I'm not going to tolerate having mine or anyone else story be taken down. I really don't want that to happen and I'm pretty sure you don't either. Please consider this. It's only for one day, so what's it gonna hurt for you to not read or write? **

**Spread this around that on June 23rd, we're having a BlackOut day. Just remember not to come on to this site if you're serious and do not want your story or anyone else be taken down. Let's make a change and show we won't stand for this!**

**Yours Truly, **

**Kairi**

**P.S. I totally wrote this all and if you wanna help by spreading this around, go ahead and copy and paste. I won't mind. **


	22. Report!

**Wow... it's been like a month since I've last updated. Sorry guys! And I left y'all on a cliff hanger. :/ Life has just been catching up to me at such a fast pace that it's been hard to find time to write. But, without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my own characters. **

**Report! **

And he was right. Naruto and the foxes had been ambushed three or four times within the first hour of trying to escape. The ambush was a joke though, taking no more than five minutes for each one to escape from the enemies. When the first surprise attack came, about three minutes before, Naruto wasn't being followed anymore. It was like the pursuers left the capturing for the ambushers. But of course that didn't work. It was like Orochimaru didn't know what he was doing; sending these _idiots _after a high ranking ninja. But, that of course wasn't the case. Orochimaru always knew what he was doing, in fact, it was like he was always three steps ahead of everyone. So Naruto knew something was going on, but he just didn't know what it was.

"**We have about an hour left before we exit the forest, Taichou." **Fili commented, her high pitch voice coming out clear against the wind as they ran at a fast pace.

Naruto nodded his head, feeling like if he tried to speak, all of his energy would leave him and he would end up collapsing and risk being caught. He wouldn't admit it, but he was becoming exhausted. The ambushers might have been complete idiots but they still made him use some energy to get rid of them. And to be honest, without Kyuubi, he was slowly running out of it. He figured it was from all of the blood he was losing from the wounds he received earlier. His sides were aching and he wasn't use to it. After having every wound healed within twenty minutes of receiving it for all of your life, you weren't accustom to the aching pain.

He gritted his teeth. He may have another hour before he escaped from this damned forest, but it was still another good ten to eleven hours before he reached his destination. He still had a good ways to go. And he planned on going straight there with no stops. He had to reach Sana. He couldn't leave her alone. She might have Tsunade and Gaara but he knew that she want him.

'_Hold on Sana, I'm on my way.' _He thought.

Within an hour of Fili speaking, the forest started to thin out. The group noticed but didn't say anything, they just kept on moving. They ran in silence at a fast pace that everyone was able to keep up with. As the trees became less and less, Naruto had a sense that no one was waiting for them or following them anymore. After many years with the nine-tails, he was well accustom to sensing not only peoples chakra to see who and how far away they were, but being able to sense just their person. And right now, he wasn't sensing anyone for a good few miles.

He put the thought to the side, knowing that he was unfocussed with the task at hand. With a shake of his head to clear it, he looked out of the corner of his right eye to where all three foxes were running next to him. They all looked a little tired, like the adrenaline was already leaving them, but they still had enough energy to keep pace and do whatever he needed. He looked past that, looking for any wounds that could be along them.

Fili didn't have any since she barely had any fighting time and she looked the best of the three. Tili had a small gash on his side that had stopped bleeding but left his fur a little soaked. A scratch was on the tip of his nose, probably where a kunai grazed him. Kili was probably the worst out of them but not by much. He went through the most fighting, however, he barely had any battle wounds. There was some dried blood all along his muzzle from where he had bitten a lot of the enemies but none of it looked to be his. Like Tili, he had some wounds along his sides and even though they were running, Naruto could sense that the leader of the three was limping.

Turning his gaze back towards the front, Naruto did a mental check-up of himself. He had many scratches all along his body and the two major wounds from where the kunai had penetrated his skin. He hasn't lost all that much blood so he wasn't exactly worried about that. There was some dried blood on his face, some his and the rest the enemies. Other than that, he was good on being wounded. Or lets hope.

"**Taichou," **Tili's masculine voice cut through to Naruto and he paused on his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"**It is none of my business but I thought it might be wise to** **solicit a break." **He purred.

Naruto trained his eyes on the fox, wondering why he wanted to take a break now. Foxes never usually spoke what was on their mind unless asked for their opinion and they never requested a break. Ever. Seeing this to be the first time, Naruto slowed his pace down and was soon walking. The foxes were right behind and quickly slowed down along side him.

Finding a random tree, Naruto went to it and leaned against it. As his body started to slow down, he realized with a start on just how tired he was. He felt a little drained of energy and his muscles were stiff and strained. With each heart beat of his, he felt a pulse of an annoying pain that wouldn't go away.

Resting his head back, he closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breathe.

A blur of words reached his ears a moment later. The words sounded sloppy and they were all jumbled together. He could barely hear let alone understand what was being said to him.

"Hm?" He sloppily made out.

"**-chou. You... -ak..." **

Naruto could tell it was one of the foxes speaking from the high pitched voice. What he couldn't tell was what they were saying. So he tried once again, "Hm?" He tilted his head a bit to the side and frowned. His eye lids felt to heavy to open so he kept them closed for the time being. His body was aching and all he wanted to do was lie here for a little longer.

"**Tai-... must … -ak!" **

He could hear the urgency in the fox's voice but he still couldn't understand what it was they were wanting. He must what? He put the two sentences together and that was what he got. He was about to make another sound when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his leg. The pain was enough to snap his eyes open in a heartbeat and look around wildly.

Sitting before him were all three foxes. All three pairs of eyes were on his and from the glistening red liquid dripping down from Kili's jaw, he figured the damn fox bit him in the leg.

"What?" He snapped, pissed that the fox bit him. His leg stung and he felt the warm liquid sliding down his leg. Great, not only did he have wounds from escaping Orochimaru's lair, but now he had bite marks on his leg.

"**You had to wake." **Kili said, not at all affected by the tone of voice Naruto used. Flickering his tail to the West, he added, **"The sun will begin to set if you kept sleeping." **

Sleeping? Naruto wondered, his anger slowly fading. He pushed himself away from the tree and looked over to where the fox was pointing to with his tail. The sun was high in the sky, saying it was about two o'clock in the afternoon. Last he had noticed, it was hitting noon. Had he really been asleep?

Bringing his attention away from the sun, Fili cleared her throat and said, **"If you leave now, you will manage to reach your destination around night. But you must leave now."**

Catching on to what she was saying, Naruto nodded his head and said, "Does this mean we part now?" All three foxes nodded their heads. "Well alright then. Thanks for the help."

In unison, the foxes bowed low to the ground, their tails sweeping the forest floor. **"Anything for you, Taichou." **Tili commented. Before anymore conversation could be made, all three foxes disappeared in a cloud of orange smoke. The only traces they had been there was three scorch marks on the ground where they had been sitting.

Looking away from where the foxes vanished, Naruto stood up. His muscles felt stiff from his nap and he rolled his shoulders back, ignoring the pain caused by doing so. Just standing up, he realized how exhausted he felt even after sleeping for two hours. Every inch of him hurt.

"Well, it's a good thing I think ahead." He muttered to himself. He crossed his hands in front of his, releasing one of his jutsu's he had prepared a lot earlier in the day. Once the jutsu was done, he felt a lot better. He wasn't aching so much and his chakra was almost restored. Silently thanking his Sage clone, he rolled his shoulders back once more before he began his journey back to the Leaf.

XxxxX

"Your name and reason for being here."

"Kristy Wheeler and I came here to meet a good friend of mine." A young girl told the Leaf ninja standing guard at the gates of Konoha village. She reached into her bag slung over her shoulder for her identity papers before hanging them over to the guard before he had a chance to ask for them.

The guard took the papers and started to look them over. He then glance up to the girl. She had long blonde hair that went below her waist. They were in high piggy tails and sort of looked kidish. But they suit her. She was wearing a short orange mini-skirt with a black chain belt more for fashion than anything. For her shoes, she wore black knee-high boots with fish-net stockings. And on her top part of her, she was wearing a black tank top. She bright blue eyes shone with friendly-ness and she had an aura around her that yelled out excitement.

He looked back down at the paper and then handed the girl, Kristy, her papers back before stepping aside. "Welcome to the Leaf Village. I hope you find your friend." He said, wondering why her appearance sparked familiarity. He swore he had never seen her before but something inside him told him otherwise. But before he had a chance to say anything, she took her papers back and slightly bowed.

"Thank you." She told him and began her walk inside the village. As soon as she stepped foot inside the village, she made a quick scan of her area, making sure no one was watching her before she quickly jumped off the ground with enough force to allow her reach the roof tops. From there, she didn't even hesitate as she ran for the center of the whole village; the Hokage's office.

As she ran, she could feel her chakra slowly being drained. She was tired as hell from running through the whole night and because it was the early hours of morning, she had to fight back the urge to yawn. Yes, this girl here is Naruto Uzumaki. He had to change his appearance if he wanted to enter the village undetected so he used fake papers and name and he was granted access to the village. He's done this before on different occasions so he was used to it.

'She' ran as fast as her legs could carry her and barely stumbled from the lack of focus. 'She' was so close to her goal that 'she' couldn't even stop to rest, 'she' needed to reach Sana now and not later. He needed to make sure she was okay and still around.

Naruto jumped to the last roof before he bounded down to the ground, in the shadows of the building to remain undetected despite that he was still a girl. Better to be safe than sorry. Taking a second to catch his breathe, Naruto looked around himself. The streets were all deserted from bystanders so he wasted no time in running over to the front doors of the Hokage's tower.

Entering the building was like a piece of cake. Just like the last time. He flew down the halls and up the stairs to get to the highest level. But, that wasn't as easy as it was entering the building. As soon as he made it to the second floor, the ANBU ninja showed their faces.

"What're you doing in here?" One of them asked. By the tone of voice, Naruto could tell it was a male. He wore a dog's mask along with the standard uniform. He started to reach for his sword located on his back.

Not feeling like answering the man, Naruto pulled some kunai from his skirt's pocket and flung them at all three of the guards. Attached to the knives were explosive tags. The other two guards were able to jump to safety but Dog didn't have time and took all three of the explosions. When the dust cleared away, he laid breathing and unconscious on the ground.

One of the other guards, wearing a monkey mask, immediately went hand-to-hand combat with Naruto who was already prepared for it. Every time the Leaf ninja went for a kick or a punch, Naruto blocked it and threw one of his own. Ninety percent of the time his hits met target but the occasional one or two missed. The hand-to-hand combat maybe lasted a minute or two before Naruto hit the ANBU square in the mask, cracking it. The person was sent flying back from the force and hit the wall. He gave a shudder and then passed out.

All that was left was the last person. It was definitely a female before the mask by the body structures. She had a lot of curves to her figure and the way she held herself you knew she was a girl. And the long black hair was a give away. For her mask, it was a tiger mask.

"Are you prepared to be beaten and thrown in the prison?" She asked and from her tone of voice, it was confirmed it was a girl. To high pitched to be male.

Naruto smirked through the mask he was wearing. Using his own voice, though it was a girls, he said, "If you fight like the other two, then this should be a piece of cake." And then he throw himself at the ANBU.

Within thirty seconds, the last guard was slumped against the wall, unconscious. Naruto shook his head, realizing that these three ANBU were newbies from their lack of skill. There was no way the ANBU squad would be complete idiots that didn't know how to fight and be under the command of Sasuke. There was just no way.

Just as he was about to take off at a run to the office door one floor up, Naruto almost collapsed. The exhaustion was getting to him. All of the chakra he had saved from his Sage clone was used for making it here but now it was gone. He barely had any strength left.

"Shit..." He mumbled but didn't press the matter much more. Not giving himself time to fall, he began to run as fast as he could. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of knowing his sister was just one floor above him. And so was his healer. That was all that mattered.

"Almost there..." It took some time, but he made it up the stairs, tripping once but catching himself the last minute. When he made it on the top floor, he felt it before he actually saw it. Having been with that chakra all his life, he could feel Kyuubi, even though her chakra was hidden. A smile crept onto his face. A smile of relief that the two made it here and this wasn't some wild goose chase.

As he walked down the hall -surprised to see no guards on this level which was weird-, Naruto made it to the final door. He reached out for the door and turned it. Only, it wouldn't turn. Not feeling like waiting, he used force upon the door and broke it by forcing it opened. A locked door was not going to stop him.

On the inside, a couple of people looked up. The Hokage, Kazekage, and the two other sand siblings. There was one other person in the room but she didn't look up or made the motion that she even heard someone open the door.

"Report." Naruto simply stated in that feminine voice as he began his strut into the office. No one moved except for everyone tensing to see some stranger walking in. But before they could comment on anything, the jutsu Naruto was using started to fade. It looked like fire was eating away at the skin and clothing and underneath the skin was a whole new different person. In a matter or seconds, the girl that had walked into the room was transformed to the blonde haired man they were all waiting for. Except that instead of him being normal and healthy, he was bleeding in many places, some of the wounds had opened up, and he looked exhausted. Purple bags were under his eyes and he walked like it was hard on him. Scratches were all over his skin and his clothes were a bit ragged and torn in different places.

When no one had answered him, he almost growled, "Report."

Kyuubi, who had been curled up in a ball at Sana's feet, leaped to her feet and arched her back at her host. Her teeth were barred and her fangs could be seen. The fur on her back was risen and she spoke to him, '_**I heard you the first time.' **_She hissed as her fur began to lie flat again. '_**There is nothing to report on my half. We got here safely. But you on the other hand,' **_She gazed him up and down before a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. '_**Looks like I'm going to be busy for a while.' **_

Naruto continued to walk into the room and still nobody moved. The vibe he was giving off was one of impatience. He just nodded his head to the fox and his eyes immediately sought out Sana. He found her and his gaze softened a bit.

All eyes were on Naruto but changed when they noticed the nine tailed fox start to change. Red chakra started to come off of her in waves and they were headed straight towards the blonde. Neither of them said anything as this went on. Soon, Kyuubi's form started to get smaller and smaller until she completely disappeared.

"Sana." Naruto softly said, feeling a little bit better now that his tailed beast was back and healing him. He could hear her in the back of his mind, grumbling about how she only left his for so many hours and he comes back being battered and bruised. More work on her part. But he ignored her and focused all of his attention to a young girl whose head slowly rose.

A pair of forest green eyes meet a pair of bright blue ones and they locked for maybe a minute. Naruto was still walking towards her and he maybe had another yard to go when the teenager shakily rose to her feet, using the wall as support.

"N-Naruto." She whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

"Hey sweetie." Was his response and he gave her a lopsided grin. "Sorry I'm late." Suddenly, Sana closed the space between them and threw herself into his arms, sobbing into his chest. Naruto was already expecting such movement and was prepared. He picked her up like she was a little kid and not a teenager and hugged her.

"I was so scared," She whispered as she clung to him.

Naruto nodded and rubbed her back in small circles. "I know and I'm so sorry. If only I had come sooner." _And not had been so selfish. _He thought. He pushed that thought away and finally acknowledged the other people in the room. The Sand siblings were on the other side of the wall. Temari and Kankuro were sitting on a couch that hadn't been there before. They were both alerted and had their eyes glued to their adopted kin. Gaara was standing next to them but he was leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed and he caught Naruto's eyes. They stared at one another for maybe a few seconds. Then Gaara nodded his head and Naruto looked away to the last person in the room. Tsunade was standing up with her chair behind her, touching the back of her legs. She was starring at the two in the center of the room with sad but happy eyes to see them reunited again.

"Tsunade..." Naruto said in a soft voice. He had stopped walking after picking his sister up. Said name stood at alert and blinked at him for him to continue. Swallowing, he continued, "Thank you. For everything." She would never know how much this had meant to the blonde. He had already been notified from the fox that the hokage had healed the worst of Sana's wounds and that, he was thankful for.

She nodded her head, feeling a little disoriented. "A-anytime." She managed to say. She cleared her throat, wanting to say more. Who knows, this was probably the last time she was going to see him in a long time. He was, after all, 'dead'. "W-what are you going to be doing now?" She asked, feeling her voice shake. She wanted to know where he was headed off too so that maybe, maybe one day she could go visit him and not have him risk coming back here.

Naruto noticed and gave her a tired smile. He shrugged his shoulders, stilling rubbing his sister's back and said, "Probably go to a small town to rest for now." He looked over to Gaara and told him, "We won't be coming home for maybe a week. I just want to make sure she's okay." He said, gesturing to Sana.

"Don't be gone for too long." Was all Gaara said, but he approved.

The blonde nodded and shifted his sister in his arms so he could hold her better on his side like a little kid. "Sana," he softly said, not wanting to scare her. Said name looked up a little to see his face. She sniffled and had silent tears still streaming down her face, but remained quiet. "Do you think you could teleport us out of here? I don't have enough strength left to run." While saying that, he could feel his wounds beginning to heal. His chakra was slowly being replenished by Kyuubi's but he knew that he would have to rest in order to feel energized.

She nodded her head.

Naruto nodded and gave her the signal to pause for a second. He looked back to Tsunade and told her, "You will want to be on the look out, Baa-chan."

Tsunade's face immediately became guarded as she asked, "Why? What has happened?"

"Orochimaru," He said. "I got a first glance of what his army is. Not real strong ninja, but he has many of them. I don't know when they'll move out, but be on guard." He turned to Gaara. "You too. I highly doubt he'll attack the Sand, but we can never be to sure."

"I'll alert the guards and have more ninja put on posts." Tsunade said, sounding professional.

Naruto nodded. "Just be careful."

"You too, Naruto." The hokage said, her voice switching back to sounding sad. "You too."

Nodding his head in thanks, he squeezed his sister to show he was ready to leave. Sana nodded and closed her eyes, thinking of a hotel far, far away from here before teleporting Naruto and herself out of the Leaf's village.

**XxxxX**

**To be honest, I was so excited to write this chapter. I pictured it to be bad ass. But... it wasn't. To be honest, I don't really like how I did this chapter. It could be so much better, you know? But I don't know how to do that. Oh well. **

**And just an FYI, I came to the end of my writing that I wrote in a spiral. Before, I would write the story on paper and then transfer it to the computer. But now, I reached the ending point of my writing. It's not bad, don't get me wrong. But, I just have no idea how long it will take to get the next chapters up. Hopefully not long as before, but just don't have your hopes up too high. ;P i'll continue writing! I promised y'all I would finish this story and I'm keeping that promise!**

**And one more thing, thanks to all that participated in the Black Out! **

**~Kairi**


	23. Relaxing Until the Big News Arrives

**Hey! Sorry about… yeah, about updating. I've been bad with it a lot. Anyways, about the chapter, it's sort of short and fast pace. There was only so much I could write. . But, please enjoy and let me know what you think! **

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my own characters. **

**Relaxing Until the Big News Arrives**

Sun filtered through the small window on the left, waking an exhausted blonde man up from a dreamless sleep. He left his eyes closed and yawned softly while stretching his limbs like a cat. Arching his back from feeling the stiffness that rested there, he opened his eyes a little, taking in the scene around him.

As soon as he and Sana arrived in a village a couple of days away from the Leaf village, the two passed out with so much as a word to one another once they found a hotel. The two had fallen asleep on one of the beds, neither of them wanting to leave the other. After being separated from one another for so long, the thought of even sleeping in separate beds was left out of mind.

Speaking of not wanting to leave one another's side, Naruto's eyes flashed opened all the way in alarm. He was aware of being the only person on the bed. Sitting straight up in a fluid motion, his blue eyes scanned the small room. Everything seemed left untouched from when the two had first arrived in the room. One of the beds was still made; the chairs at the table were still untouched. Everything in the kitchen hadn't been moved yet either.

'_Where is she?' _He thought, feeling a slight tug of panic swell inside of him.

Before he could jump out of bed and tear the room apart, let alone the whole village, a soft click caught his attention. His eyes found where the sound came from; the door that led in and out were across the room. And walking slowly away from the door was said missing person. She didn't even realize her brother was awake since she had her eyes cast downward, shifting through a pile of clothes in her arms. They must have been hers, freshly washed since she was wearing a white, soft looking bathrobe around her frame and her long, brown hair was damp and hanging loose down her backside.

"Sana," Naruto gently said, grabbing her attention. She looked up from her arm full, a little surprised. Slowly, he released all of the tension in his shoulders that had gathered. He crossed his legs on the bed and motioned for his sister to come to him.

At first, the teenager hesitated but she quickly covered it up with a small, shy smile. She resumed her walking and came over to the bed. She sat down in front of the blonde on the edge of the bed and kept her clothes in her lap. Her forest green eyes gazed at him with curiosity and she remained silent.

Naruto closed the distance between the two and he pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Hey, sweetie," He wanted to bury his face in her damp hair but managed not too. It felt good to see her again and with everything finally calm and collected, he could lower his guard and give her that warm sensation that nothing was going to happen to her anymore. He could feel arms wrap around his waist and from the motion, he tightened his grip on her just a little before releasing.

Pulling back, he tucked a stray stand of brown hair behind her ear and grabbed her cheek. "Are you alright?" He asked, keeping his voice light. He went in slow circles with his thumb against her skin, knowing it was a technique used when she had nightmares or was stressing out. It always seemed to calm her down.

Sana nodded. She leaned in against his chest and said, "I'm fine." Her voice continued to be soft but it was no longer hoarse. "What about you?"

Naruto shrugged, "Better now that I've rested and got you back." He then took a deep breath and the words came pouring out of his mouth before he could stop it, "Sana, I am so sorry about everything that had happened. If I hadn't been so self fish, you wouldn't have been there and Orochimaru wouldn't have -," He was cut off mid-sentence by his sister putting her hand on top of his.

She shook her head and gazed deep into his eyes. Pain and sorrow clouded his vision, along with regret. She just simply smiled and said, "Kyuubi told me everything. I understand why you did what you did and I just want to tell you that I am not mad." Naruto looked ready to object but she quickly went on, "I understand, Nii-sama. You don't have to make any excuses. Deep down, I've known how badly you've wanted to see your friends. I'm glad you got to see them again." She smiled. "I just wish it was under different terms, you know?"

The blonde stared at her for the longest time, wondering how on earth she could forgive him after everything she went through. He was expecting her to be disappointed, to be furious that he was self fish and didn't come to her aid right away. But no; here she was, forgiving him about his own actions.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered and leaned forward, leaning his forehead against hers. He felt tears wanting to well up in his eyes but he managed to keep them back and closed his eyes.

Sana closed her eyes. "Already forgiven."

XxxxX

"Um… Naruto?" Sana's voice drifted towards Naruto, breaking their moment of silence a few moments later.

"Yeah?"

"Is… there any way we can get this off now?"

Naruto open his blue eyes and pulled back. He watched his sister awkwardly tug at the leather collar still around her neck. They had both been so tired when they got to the village that they simply fell asleep. Sana didn't even mention her collar and Naruto completely forgot about it due to his lack of sleep.

He nodded his head and placed a hand on the leather. Surprisingly, it was cold, not at all taking the properties of the material. He frowned. "Don't move." He said. She nodded and obeyed his command, keeping her hands at her side and straightening her back a little. She moved her neck so he would have better access to it.

Naruto felt all along the collar, trying to see if there was another way to get it off, like a belt or Velcro or something. But he didn't find anything like that. All it was, or looked like, was a simple piece of leather material wrapped around her neck, and somehow sown together. There was no way of getting it undone.

Deep in concentration, the blonde pulled out a kunai from his pouch (yes he still has it on) and pressed the blade against Sana's skin. She flinched but he was quick to reassure her, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just…" He trailed off, letting the sharp metal slip through the material. What should have easily split, the material didn't and stayed intact.

"The hell?" He spoke under his breath. He tried to cut it, but even that didn't work.

"Try your chakra…" Sana suggested, keeping aware of the knife still in his hand.

Naruto blinked and nodded his head. Placing the kunai back into his pouch, he kept his hand, palm touching the material, on her neck and pushed some of his chakra into the leather. At first, nothing happened, but then he pushed more chakra into it. The leather started to get warm and before long, the leather snapped, falling off from around her neck.

Sana winced and her hands went immediately went to her neck, rubbing the sore skin that was slightly red from the collar. She looked down at where the material fell scrunched her nose at it.

The blonde picked the material up and examined it. "How did you know to use chakra?" He asked and flipped it over in his hands. It didn't look anything special, just ordinary leather.

"I don't know…" She answered and stopped rubbing her neck. "That man just told me it was special and left it as that. And since you couldn't get it off with a knife, I just thought chakra would work."

Naruto nodded and threw the material away, hating it at the same time being curious. Quickly, it left his mind as he looked his sister up and down. "Has Kyuubi's healing ability taken affect on you yet?" He couldn't see any wounds because of the robe she was wearing. But just in case, he had to make sure.

"Yup." Sana answered. "While we were asleep, it seems everything was healed and restored. The gash on my leg is gone, reduced to a simple scar." She pulled her leg up for him to see. Along her slightly pale skin, a thin pink scar went up her leg. It was about a foot long and looked like it had really hurt.

The blonde nodded, feeling anger well up inside of him at the man who had done this to his sister. "Do you know why he… did this?" He asks and gently ran his fingers over the scar.

The teenager slightly flinched at the contact but answered him, "He was trying to get me to use my chakra." Naruto tensed but remained quiet so she could continue. "But I kept refusing him. Every time I did, I was punished. Some were harsher than others, but I managed."

Before anything else could be said, Naruto was on his feet, walking away from his sister. Rage now started to boil inside him and he was afraid something would happen to Sana if he stayed next to her. He could control his anger pretty well, but there were still those rare occasions he had trouble, especially if it had to do anything with his siblings being hurt or in danger.

"Naruto?" Sana asked, watching him walk across the room and stop. His head was bowed a little and from where she was sitting, she could see his frame slightly shaking. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides and she knew blood was about to spill from his palms from his nails digging in too deeply.

"I…" He began to say but never got to finish as his vision swarmed and he stumbled forward. Black dots appeared in his line of sight and if it weren't for the chair to his right, he would have fallen flat on his face. But he managed to reach out and use the back of the chair for balance.

"Naruto!" Sana squeaked and rushed over to her brother's side. She appeared on his left side and helped support him, noticing that sweat started to drip down his face.

'_**Don't worry, Sana,' **_Kyuubi's voice filled both of their minds. She sent soothing thoughts over to the younger and continued to speak, _**'He's still exhausted. Even after sleeping for three days, he still has a little bit more of resting to do.' **_

"I was out for three days?" Naruto questioned, his voice coming out in small pants like he had just run a marathon.

Sana nodded. "I was out for two."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief but wished he didn't. The dizzy spell washed over him again and a headache appeared.

'_**You also need to eat. Both of you. But first, Naruto, you need to go wash up and get all of that dry blood off of you.' **_The fox instructed and then wrinkled her nose. '_**You reek.'**_

XxxxX

After an hour, Naruto was finally refreshed in his appearance. His body felt a lot better after the hot bath in the springs and he smelled a lot better too. His clothes were washed and sewn back up from all of the tears. And besides his stomach feeling empty and his body a little tired, he felt better than before.

He walked out of the small bathroom in their hotel room fully dressed and looked around. He spotted his sister sitting on her bed gazing out the window. She was fully dressed too, and even had her hair pulled back into its natural high pony-tail. When he cleared his throat, she perked up.

"Feeling better?" She asked and gracefully got to her feet. She smiled at him and at first, Naruto wondered if anything had actually happened. She looked and was acting the same before everything happened. But then he caught sight of the scar on her leg and everything came crashing back. For now, he shoved all of the thoughts into the back of his mind.

Naruto curtly nodded his head. "And yourself?" He ran his hand through his still damp hair and then checked his pockets for his money.

"Better than before." Sana said. "Just really hungry now. I think I could eat a whole life-size Kyuubi and still be hungry."

'_**I heard that…' **_The fox muttered, not to happy.

Both siblings cracked a smile and it felt good.

"C'mon," Naruto said and started to walk towards the door. "Let's go calm that appetite of yours."

XxxxX

After a couple of minutes walking around the small town, the two found a small café with tables on the outside. Naruto ordered the biggest bowl of ramen they had while Sana ordered two sandwiches. She also got a side bowl of some fruit. As they ate, they made small talk.

"So, where exactly are we?" Naruto asked, getting through with his third bowl. "He looked around the place, not really recognizing anything. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't place anything.

Sana finished her mouthful and answered, "It's a small village a couple of miles from The Land of Snow."

Naruto choked on his noodles and a coughing fit took place. But Sana heeded him no attention as she popped a piece of fruit into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

When the fit seemed to calm down, Naruto managed to muster, "What?"

The younger blinked her eyes and tilted her head at him, playing the look of innocence on him.

"You teleported us… six days from …?" He didn't have to finish his sentence, shocked that his sister managed to get them this far. As far as he was concerned, this was her greatest distance.

She nodded. And a smile formed on her face. "I knew you wanted to go somewhere far and I wanted to see how far I could go."

'_**And if she went this far with barely any chakra and being exhausted, how far do you think she could go being fully rested?' **_Kyuubi put in, her voice full of admiration.

Sana heard the compliment and a light blush appeared on her face.

Naruto nodded his head, still shocked about the distanced they covered. "But you're still not fully recovered, are you?" She shook her head. "That's still a pretty damn good distance you managed." He gave her a thumbs up. "Proud of you, sis." And he truly meant it.

"Thanks." She responded back. "Though I'm still not sure how I even did that. It seems like I'm improving without even training."

"Hey now," Naruto intercepted, "Don't think you can get out of your training so easily." He raised an eyebrow at her as she gave him an innocent grin. "You're just lucky right now. For the next few days, let's just relax and gather our strength back and maybe, maybe do a little shopping." A twinkle appeared in the teen's eyes at the mention of shopping. Curse Temari and her influencing.

"I'm up for that!" Sana agreed.

Naruto nodded. "Just give me today to relax."

XxxxX

Within the next two days, the two siblings managed to gather the rest of their strength back and a little shopping to top that off. They spent most of their time being with one another, whether that be stay in the motel room and relax, or out taking a nice walk. No training was done just so the two could have a vacation. As of now, the two were out eating a light brunch before they began their journey back home to Gaara and the others.

"Now don't think you have another vacation once we get back," Naruto said. He sipped quietly on his first cup of herbal tea. He wasn't as hungry, but knew he needed something in his stomach. He had a bad feeling, his insides feeling like they were squeezing rather painfully. It was usually a bad sign but he didn't know why. Something bad was coming, but what?

Sana nodded her head, eating a bowl of fruit. "I know, I know." She said.

"And training will come first before Tristan." Boy did her face turn beat red. Naruto smirked and said, "I know you miss your little boy friend but training comes first."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that already." She muttered under her breath, her face still red. She tried hiding it by looking down and playing with her food.

Having the time of his life, Naruto leaned back against his chair and raised one leg to prop it on his other leg at the knee. He took another sip from his cup and listened to the surrounding sounds. Little kids laughter and the playful screams were all around him, followed by the normal activities of the village that goes on day to day. He could hear the leaves rustling from the wind and the birds and squirrels chattering. To his right, also sitting at the café but a few tables over was a group of men. They were gossiping about the latest news.

Naruto closed his eyes and listened to them clarefully, wondering what sort of new news was going on.

"Did you hear about the villages in the Fire Country?" One man said, instantly alerting the blonde man.

"The ones being slaughtered, right?" Another said.

"I heard there were so far six villages no longer on the map; that's how bad it's gotten." A third added.

"Who do you think is doing it?" The first man asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they're set on one goal." The third said.

And that was all Naruto heard before he stood up from his chair, gaining Sana's attention, before walking over to where the three elderly gentlemen were sitting. There was a fourth chair, left unattended and he took it without asking, sitting on the very edge. The three men were surprised but as soon as Naruto spoke, they kept straight faces.

"What villages were slaughtered so far?" He asked.

One of the men, the one who spoke second was sitting on his right. He nervously scratched his balding head and said, "I don't really know what villages; they're too small to really know."

Naruto frowned and his bad feeling grew. "If I showed you a map, would you be able to point out which villages."

The one sitting on the right looked across the table to his other fellow mates and looked uncertain. The one sitting on Naruto's left also looked uncertain. But the one sitting right across had more of a for sure look.

Without words being exchanged, Naruto quickly looked through his magic bag on his hip, being careful on what was being said. He rummaged around his bag until he found a neatly folded map and pulled it out. He laid it out on the table before the three and smoothed out any wrinkles.

"Which towns?" He asked.

The man leaned forward and rubbed his chin, looking carefully over the paper. His eyes scanned the part where it said 'Fire Country' and thought.

"Um… there, there, ... there and there." He pointed to four of them. He rubbed his chin some more and then pointed to the last two. "And that one and that one."

Naruto didn't even give the man a chance to lean back against his chair before he snatched his map back up and stood up with so much force, his chair toppled over. He didn't say a word to the men as he left in a hurry, only going towards Sana.

"We have to leave." He said.

Sana popped the last piece of fruit into her mouth and stood up. "Why? Where are we going?" She could tell from the tone he was using that they were going back home, not just yet. She grabbed her bag laying against her chair on the group and rushed to keep up with her brother's long strides as they made their way quickly out of the village.

Naruto didn't take his eyes off of the road in front of him. He stuffed the map back into his bag and he now knew why he was having a bad feeling. As he spoke, a feeling of dread swelled inside of him. "We're going back to Konoha. Orochimaru is almost there."

**XxxxX Until next time. **

**Now before you question the last sentence, don't. That part will be explained in the beginning of the next chapter. So please, don't ask me about that. Just go along with it. **

**Until next time!**


	24. The Summoning's

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my own characters. **

**The Summoning's**

"Naruto, where are we going?" Sana huffed as she struggled to keep up with her brother. His legs were longer than hers and when he was in a hurry, it was nearly impossible to keep up with him if you weren't running.

Without breaking stride, the blonde grunted out, "To Konoha."

Sana frowned. They just made it out of the village and immediately went to the forest. "But why? I thought you said you were never going back."

"Never say never." Was his only response.

The frown deepened considerable and she stopped walking.

Naruto noticed when he glanced over his shoulder, his own frown settling on his face. He stopped and turned around.

The two were in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. A patch of sun light broke through the line of trees and settled on shining on a small patch of grass. A few lizards were lying on the rocks in the sun light, enjoying the sun bath. They didn't seem worried that two ninja walked in their area. They continued on what they were doing.

"Why are we going back?" Sana demanded. It's not like she didn't want to go back but more because she knew what was going to be there. And by what, she meant a who. She suppressed a shiver at the thought of Orochimaru being in the same area as herself.

"I can't leave them to deal with an army." Naruto said. No doubt 'them' meant his friends in the Leaf village. His hands curled into fists at his side. "Not an army like Orochimaru's."

Sana shook her head. She felt bad about having to call him out but she knew that he needed to hear this. "Naruto, let them deal with this." It looked like she had just slapped her brother from the look he was giving her. She winced but continued, "You're not supposed to go back, that's what Orochimaru wants. He's attacking the Leaf because he knows that even if you claim you'll never go back, you will because he's attacking. That's when he'll make his move to-,"

"Don't you think I know that already?" Naruto interrupted. "I know that's what Orochimaru has planned but you know what? I don't give a damn. Everything I said before, I take it back. I won't let that damn bastard attack the Leaf, not while I'm still alive. Not while I know about it."

"But Naruto!"

The blonde shook his head. On the inside, he was confused. He kept telling himself and other people that he would never go back to the Leaf. Even after learning about the army heading towards it. But, actually having heard from someone else that the army was indeed on the move and rather close to his old home, had his blood boiling. Not to mention that the only reason the Leaf had an army headed its way was because of him. So, wouldn't it be his job, his duty to help this village out? If it weren't for him, the village would be safe, especially those villages that got slaughtered. He had to do something, right?

'_**Are you sure you want to go?'**_ Kyuubi asked, speaking up for the first time since everything happened. _**'As soon as you get there, everything you did will be for nothing. Your fake execution will all be for nothing. Are you willing to risk that? Are you willing to risk Sana's life to protect your old friend's lives?' **_

Naruto paused and wavered a bit. He faked his death all so he could protect Sana and himself. He wasted time in the Leaf to make sure that all happened before he went to save Sana. Was he really about to throw all that away now? After giving it so much time…?

'_**The Leaf village can survive one battle on its own. You don't have to go every single time the Leaf is threatened. They have people there to defend the village. You don't have to be a hero, kit.' **_Kyuubi added. She didn't sound mad or upset or happy or anything. She was just stating the obvious.

"But…" Naruto bit his lip, his confusion taking place.

Sana watched as her brother literally fought against himself. She could tell he wanted to go, but something was keeping him back. No doubt it was Kyuubi talking to him about this. She stayed silent, wondering what was going to happen. She really did not want to go to a place where her captor was going to be. But, if it was something that Naruto really wanted to do, especially if it were people he still loved and wanted to protect, what place did she have to say no? Naruto took her in even when he didn't have too. The last thing she wanted to do to him was make him choose whether he wanted to go and help his friends or leave and forget about them.

As more time passed by, Naruto started to waver. His shoulders slumped down and his tense muscles relaxed some. His tightly curled fists loosened some and he hung his head.

"Alright, fine. But only on one condition," He said and before either fox or sister could ask what the condition was, he bit his thumb hard and when blood gushed out, he slammed it down to the ground as a summoning jutsu. A cloud of smoke along with a popping sound took place and for a second, the smoke lingered. And then the wind blew it awake, leaving a rather large toad in its place. The toad was way bigger than a dog but smaller than a horse. The toad was all orange with black markings all around its eyes and body. It was definitely a male toad and he was wearing a blue coat.

"Gamakichi," Naruto greeted the toad.

The amphibian grinned back and held up one of its front legs as a salute. "Hey boss, what's up?" He asked in a slightly deeper voice than from when he was a much smaller toad.

"I need you to go to the Leaf village and tell me how far Orochimaru's army is and how many there are."

If the toad's eyes would get any bigger than their normal state, they would have. "The Leaf village?" He asked stunned to hear his summoner and close friend talk about the village that banished him years back. After learning of the traitorous act, the toad clan turned their backs on the village and would every once in a while talk with Jiraiya. They knew it wasn't the perv's fault, but since he still had ties to the village, they were very hesitant to help him.

Naruto nodded.

Gamakichi placed his leg back down on the ground and thought it for a minute. Seeing how Naruto was looking; a grim line on his face and his eyes almost haunting with dread, he came to a decision. "Alright, I'll go. Be back in a jiffy." And just like he said, he was gone in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto nodded his head in satisfaction. "Alright, we'll head home for now and wait for Gamakichi to get back. Based on his report of things, I'll decide from there." Not giving anyone a chance to speak, he spun around and started to run in the direction of the Sand Village.

Sana watched her brother, feeling her heart heavy with guilt.

'_**Don't worry, Sana; Naruto will decide what is right when the time comes.' **_Kyuubi soothed the younger.

"I know, but I feel guilty for making him choose."

'_**He has to know what he wants to do. He's lost in the past at the moment and he himself feels guilty brining his old life a whole army to fend for themselves. They're after him yet he doesn't want to go to the Leaf and risk everything. He thought he put that all in the past, but having it all come back to him so soon, he's confused. He doesn't know what to do.'**_

"He wants to go help them." Sana stated matter-of-factly, though slightly confused by everything. He wanted to go, she could see that, but at the same time, he didn't.

'_**Yes, he does.' **_

"So why don't we go and help them?" She had to make sure to question everything to get it all out in the open, to understand everything.

'_**Besides taking all that time to make it look like he died so he could keep you and himself safe from others?' **_Kyuubi rhetorically asked, _**'He wants to keep you safe. He knows you don't want to go because of who is going to be there. He knows Orochimaru wants you and will do anything to get you. He doesn't want to risk your life.**_

'_**And, he almost made a promise to his old comrades that he wouldn't return there. You know how he is with his promises.'**_

Sana nodded her head absently. She knew when the time came, she could see her brother going to help his old village, going against everything he said and did. That was just the kind of person he was. A lot of things, good and bad, may have happened in the past, but Naruto would always lend a hand. But, she knew that if he did go back, then what would become of her? Maybe that was why he was so confused and aggravated about everything. Because maybe, he knew that she didn't want to go because Orochimaru was going to be there, but she would follow him. Maybe, he was thinking about leaving her somewhere. His mind for himself was probably already made…

All of the confusing thoughts swirled in her head, forming a deep head-ache. She sighed and rubbed the side of her head.

"All I know, is wherever Naruto is going, I'm going to go with him, no matter what. If he's going to the Leaf to help, well, so am I."

Kyuubi grinned, baring her teeth. _**'Adda girl. Now get going before you completely lose that idiot.' **_

Sana nodded her head and began to pursue her brother.

XxxxX

It had only been maybe half an hour before Naruto suddenly stopped running. Sana had caught up to him, seeing as he was running slowly on purpose just so she could catch up. And once she did, he picked his pace back up. Until now. Once he started to slow down, so did she. She didn't ask questions but went along with everything.

Naruto scanned his surroundings. They were still in the forest and would be for another fifteen hours. And the scenery looked the same just as it did ten minutes ago, and even before that. Nothing new. But, that wasn't what made him stop. He scanned his right side and before he could even blink once, a cloud of smoke appeared right where he was looking. Once the smoke cleared, Gamakichi sat there, looking disturbed.

"Boss," he said when caught sight of the person he was looking for.

"What did you find?" Naruto asked, not at all surprised to see the toad there. He had been waiting for the report and was getting more and more impatient by the minute.

Gamakichi glanced away for a minute, wondering how to explain his sightings. He glanced at Sana, noticing her curiosity. He gave her a nod before returning his attention to the matter at hand. "You won't like it, boss." He said. "But, Orochimaru is about two days away from Konoha. And…" He looked away again.

"What?" Naruto asked, his face keeping the look of impatience. But, underneath his expression, dread filled him to the bones.

"The Leaf village, they're… they're hopelessly outnumbered. At least five to one." The toad looked back just in time to see a look of shock flash cross the blonde's face before it was gone. Almost like lightening. The amphibian swallowed before saying, "Only good thing is that most of the army is filled with okay ninja. But it still comes down to numbers."

"Is the village on alert?"

Gamakichi nodded. "They are. And it appears the Sand siblings are there as well."

Naruto frowned at that statement, wondering why his step-siblings were extending their stay at Konoha. They should have already been home.

'_**Maybe they were but caught sight of the army and went back to warn them.' **_Kyuubi suggested.

The blonde didn't comment but looked directly at his summon. "Thank you, Gamakichi."

"No problem, Naruto. Do you need any more help of me?"

Naruto started to shake his head but paused as a thought popped in to his head. "Actually, just one more thing." The toad watched him curiously, waiting for the comment. "I need you to tell Chief Gamabunta that if Pervy-sage tries to summon him, to allow it."

Gamakichi frowns a little but nodded his head anyways. "Alright. You know Pop won't really like that. But since it's coming from you, he'll go along with it."

The Jinchuuriki smirked and nodded his head. At his signal, the summoning released and the toad popped out of existence in a cloud of smoke.

Sana had watched the whole exchange in silence. As she watched, she could tell that her brother had his mind up. And what he said next confirmed her guess.

"Let's go," Naruto said and bit both of his thumbs before shoving them both in the space in front of him. "We're going to Konoha." Instead of the blood dripping down to the ground, it lingered in the air for another summoning jutsu, but this time, one being very special. He made a seal in the air and it stayed there like he was drawing on paper in the air. As soon as the seal was finished, he started to make hand signs. They started slow at first, but with each passing sign, picked up speed.

Soon, Sana couldn't keep track of what hand signs her brother was using, it all just came out in a blur. She couldn't even tell how many was being down. But, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. In just a couple of seconds, she started to notice red chakra seeping out of him and moving towards the seal that still remained in the air. She knew what was about to happen so she moved closer to her brother, in fear of getting left behind.

"It takes about six days to travel from here to the Fire Country on foot," Sana pondered aloud. "Do you really think Kyuubi will make it there within just two days?"

As the seconds ticked by, the chakra came out in waves and the more that came, the more the seal became bigger; it grew. Naruto chuckled and said, "You really want to insult Kyuubi today, especially since I'm letting her out?" Suddenly, without any warning being given, the chakra started to take form. Sana felt herself, as well as Naruto, lift off the ground. This was going to be her second time doing this, the first a practice, so she kind of knew what to expect.

The two soared into the air, red chakra under their feet, supporting them. As they both watched, the chakra took form, getting bigger and bigger. Soon, the seal became a small dot on the body of a three-hundred feet tall fox. The length of her body exceeded well over three hundred feet long. The Nine Tailed Fox has appeared in her actual form.

As soon as her full form came into view, and she wasn't just made up of chakra, Naruto whistled. "Took only ten seconds. That's a personal best."

Kyuubi rolled her eyes and wanted to shake her head but couldn't. She couldn't afford her summoner and Sana being thrown off as they were standing on her head. _**'Shut it, kit.' **_She said and then moved her eyes upwards. _**'And Sana, two days, please. I can make it there in a day and a half.' **_

Naruto was the one to roll his eyes this time. "Don't gloat right now. Show us first, and then you can brag about everything. But first, get us there."

Sana remained quiet. She clutched her brother's hand tightly with the both of hers. She felt a small feeling of panic swell up inside her since they were so high up, but she didn't voice her thoughts. Both of the others knew she didn't do well with heights. She just swallowed and nodded her head.

'_**So, are we ready to go?' **_Kyuubi asked, impatient to stretch her muscles. It had been months since she was last out in full form and got to stretch her legs.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, let's get to Konoha and kick some ass." With his mind already made up, he squared his shoulders, ready to help defend his old village, risking everything he had done to protect his sister. He didn't care anymore about keeping a low profile anymore, especially since if he entered the Fire Country and the ninja of the Leaf saw him, they were immediately supposed to execute him. But, they would have to get over their shock first.

"Let's get this show on the road."

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**I don't know, I didn't really think this chapter was all that great. It seems confusing to me, and I'm the writer. I didn't know if it made any sense on why Naruto wanted to go back. Why he felt he needed too. And just an FYI, it wasn't that Sana or Kyuubi were trying to make him not go, they were just trying to help him. **

**Please tell me if I did this chapter alright or not. I need the feedback on this part. I really don't know how much I liked it. :/**

**I did some research (Oh, my gosh!) and I summed it up that the Kyuubi is anywhere from 100 to at least 400 feet tall. No one knew the for real size, so I'm going with 300. Got a problem, I'd love to hear it. But to be honest, it's a story, and I don't really think it matters. Personal opinion here. **

**Until next time. **

**Sneak Peak: Battle scenes! :D (Wish me luck!)**


	25. War Within Konoha

Just to let you know that this story is coming to an end. Finally. I can't really say how many more chapters there will be, but I'm assuming less than six. Not that many. Maybe even less. Who knows. Anyways, on with the story that took me two months to write! (Which I apologize for!)

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my own characters. **

**War Within Konoha **

**Konoha's POV**

The village was on high alert. Every able ninja was in battle gear, their weapons and any ammunition all stocked and sharpened. The medic team was stocked up on medicine and supplies, waiting until everything started. All civilians were hidden in safe places. The whole village was ready.

"Anything?" A feminine voice spoke, coming up from behind the young Uchiha who was perched on the high wall surrounding the whole village

Without having to turn around, Sasuke shook his head. "No, Hokage. Everything's been quiet."

Tsunade nodded her head. She came to a halt beside her ANBU captain and overlooked the forest that surrounded the front side of the village. She knew Orochimaru was within a couple of hours from her village and she had the slightest clue if he was going to attack from the sides and front or just the front. But, she knew how her old/ex comrade worked. She expected him to be making a grand entrance. Probably have a good handful on his ninja take the lead a give them a 'surprise attack' from the sides.

Her eyes scanned the sides of the village. More than half of her ninja were surrounding the walls and the rest on the inside of the village, waiting. A handful of ANBU, along with Neji who was leading them, were out in the forest, waiting patiently for that surprise group to come. They were to make sure no one got past them.

"Where are the Sand Siblings?" Sasuke asked without taking his eyes off of the landscape.

"Termari is situated at the East wall, Kankuro the West and Gaara is around here somewhere." She answered.

And as if on cue, the red head Kagekage walked casually up to them his head to the side as he too, watched the scenery. You could tell he was ready for the battle by the tension built up in his shoulders and the grim look on his face. His gourd was still on his back with a small trickle of sand leaking out. A defense mechanism the man liked to use when he wasn't in his home country. Just in case an enemy tried to attack a team mate and he wasn't near them, Gaara could use the sand on the ground as a fast shield.

"Anything?" He asked and came to a halt on the Hokage's other side.

"No." Tsunade answered. She then glanced over at the younger man and asked with a stiff voice, "Any word from him?"

Sasuke stiffened from the question but kept his mouth shut. His gaze hardened underneath his mask.

Gaara shook his head. "He hasn't sent anything yet." Referring to the bracelet.

Tsunade nodded her head and let the silence overcome them for a few minutes. When all was quiet, she finally muttered, "He better not come back. If he does, his ass will be getting kicked."

A ghost of a smile graced Gaara's lips. He didn't say anything and there was nothing that needed _to _be said. He just shook his head and set his gaze towards the horizon. It was still pretty dark outside and the sun was just starting to poke out. It would be a couple of minutes before the sun rose, lightening everything up with its morning glow. He wondered how much longer the army was supposed to arrive. Already, the village had been on high alert for three hours.

As if almost reading his mind, somewhere in the distance, the sound of metal upon metal was heard. Immediately, all three of their gazes turned to the sound.

"Wasn't expecting it to be this soon," Tsunade grumbled to herself. She glanced over her shoulder, signaling to her ninja on the ground and within the village to be on alert because the ANBU squad was already engaged in battle. As she was turning her head back around, her cat-like reflexes kicked into high gear as she dodged a kunai headed straight for her eyes.

"And so the battle begins." She muttered and straightened up to face whoever threw the weapon. But she stopped when she caught sight of the horizon. As the sun rose behind them, the army came at a fast pace. There was literally hundreds of the ninja and looked to be more. But that wasn't what got her attention. It was Orochimaru and who he brought out to join the fight. The damn bastard was making this one serious battle.

**Naruto's POV**

Gamakichi had said the army was within two days of the village and that the Leaf was horribly out numbered. So Naruto had Kyuubi running at top speed that if any random by-stander was around, they would only see a big blur of red. They wouldn't even feel the ground rumble and shake because the fox's feet touched the ground for maybe a millisecond.

"How much longer?" Naruto asked normally, even though the wind drowned out his voice. He was perched on the fox's head, arms crossed at his chest. Chakra secured his feet down so he wouldn't be flying off and he didn't move. He wasn't really affected by the sudden powerful wind wiping by. Sana was a different story. She was sitting on her legs with both of her arms wrapped tightly around her brother's leg. Unlike him, she would have been highly affected even if chakra secured her down. Her brother had grace, that's what it was. She was just lucky to be holding on.

Kyuubi hissed like normal at her host. _**"If you'd stop asking every hour, maybe we'll be even farther than we are now. You're lucky on the time we're making now." **_

Naruto didn't say anything. He wasn't affected by her tone of voice. His thoughts were wondering about the village. What happens if they don't make it in time? The village were warned about the threat and the army wasn't really full of powerful shinobi (going back to when he had fought a good portion of them at Orochimaru's hideout), but it was the number that concerned the young Jinchuriki. They could be the worst ninja ever but a number did mean something, and they did have some sort of skill in them. And who knows what kind of powerful ninja Orochimaru was hiding before.

"_**We're about five hours away." **_Kyuubi muttered, breaking Naruto of his thoughts.

Naruto nodded and glanced at his surroundings. Despite everything being blurred, he knew exactly where they were. How could he not? The sand was a distinct color and the heat was something you'd never forget. They were passing by the Sand village. As much as he wanted to stop, for reasons he didn't want to say, he turned away from it.

As he stared ahead of him, Kyuubi interrupted his thoughts with, _**"Don't let your emotions get in the way of the battle, kit." **_

Naruto only nodded. "I won't."

"_**You better. If you want me to help, then keep them in check. Sana, make sure he does." **_

Sana bobbled her head up and down and tightened her grip. Naruto glanced down for a second and uncrossed his arms to lay a hand on her head. By the time they arrive at the battle, he would have to bottle his stronger emotions up. If he didn't, he could kiss Kyuubi and her help goodbye. With his emotions attached to the fox, and if they were strong enough, he could accidently force Kyuubi back into the cage. It happened once before while he was training with the fox. Sana had been dozing in a safe spot underneath a tree when a venomous snake bit her in the leg. It was so sudden, Naruto freaked and bad things happened. Kyuubi had yet still refused to forgive him. But ever since then, he made sure during a battle with the fox out he kept his emotions in check.

'_I'll keep you safe, Sana. I promise.' _He thought and glanced back up to the horizon. They passed by a familiar tree, despite the speed they were going, and he knew it wouldn't be too much longer before they reached the village. '_Just a little longer…' _He thought.

XxxxX

Barely two hours into the battle, Sasuke back flipped out the area to get a view of what was going on. He appeared on an empty spot on the wall, slightly destroyed from the enemies, and paused. Glancing around, he was half satisfied and half not. Everyone in the Leaf –plus the three Sand siblings- was fighting at least four to one. They were doing well. Bodies of the enemies started to liter the floor and blood was spilt everywhere. There was maybe a few Leaf shinobi that littered the ground, but otherwise the rest belonged to the enemies. What he wasn't satisfied with was how every time one enemy fell, another two took its place.

Interrupting him from his report, a sad excuse for a ninja blocked his view with a raised ax. The man, no the boy looked no more than eighteen with freckles littering his cheeks and nose. His face still had that round face to it and large innocent looking eyes. But instead of finding innocence in those large blue orbs, he found hated.

"Die, you scum!" The boy screamed and swung his ax at Sasuke's neck.

Easily, the Uchiha ducked under and threw his fist at the boy's midsection. The force of the punch sent the kid flying backwards, his weapon dropping out of his hands. Sasuke didn't even stick around to watch the kid hit the wall with a sickening crunch and collapse into an unmoving heap. He disappeared to a place higher and immediately touched his neck to radio the other ANBU.

"Report," He ordered clearly. He removed his fingers and scanned the surrounding areas. He could pretty much make out everyone who was fighting. Hinata, along with Shino were fighting side by side, protecting a couple of houses that the enemies were trying to destroy. The old team ten were fighting in one area, all working together and keeping a pretty solid hold on protecting their area. He couldn't find where the Hokage or Jiraiya were, but he wasn't too worried about them.

"_The East side is holding its own." _Someone reported in, most likely Hellino, one of the senior ANBU ninja.

"_South is holding fairly well. Not too many coming this way. It looks like they're more focused on the gate." _A feminine voice replied over the radio.

Sasuke touched the radio and said, "Don't let your guard down, Amanda. That's what they want you to think." He knew not to underestimate Orochimaru and what direction they were to attack in. Even if the back was secure, he didn't want them to let their guard down.

He waited on one more report, from the West and when he didn't get one, he touched the radio and barked out, "Keo, what is your status?"

After a couple of seconds tick by and there was still no report, he let out an annoyed growl. That man never did like to report in, no matter how important it was. And just when he was about to yell something, the other side clicked on.

"_I had to leave the West side to aid to the Elder's den." _Keo's rough voice came through.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "You had orders to stay and protect the West, Keo." He said. "Who the hell is on the West side?"

"_And that would be me," _Kakashi's voice came through the radio. _"But the West side is holding for now."_

Sasuke nodded to himself. At least Keo had the common sense to leave authority to someone who knew what they were doing. "Glad to see you're on board, Kakashi." He said. "Report back in ten minutes. Including you, Keo." When he clicked the radio off, he added at the end, "You fucking dumb ass." Mentally, he wrote a note in his head to punish Keo after all of this was over. That kid was number one on his shit list, and if it was possible, he was even higher.

He shook his head to rid himself of distracting thoughts and rejoined the battle, helping a new batch of Genin take out five enemies.

**Tsunade's POV**

Her village was holding fairly well against the threat. True, she was running back and forth between the medic station to the front lines, but she wasn't all that worried. The ninja attacking her village would be considered Genin level, if not just a tad bit stronger. But with as many as there were, that was really the only problem she saw. Well, not to forget her unsaid fear that Orochimaru was just playing with them. She had a hunch that the snake was using the weaker ninja to tire out the village before he sent his stronger ones in. It was a smart plan and she could see him doing it.

And not to forget about Orochimaru. He was always in her sights even though he never moved from where he was perched on top of the head of all snakes; Manda. Orochimaru was serious about this war yet, he wasn't doing anything yet.

"Probably because Naruto isn't here," A voice said next to her, reading her thoughts. She looked over to her right and found Jiraiya calmly standing next to her.

Tsunade nodded her head and turned it back to watch her old ex-comrade. "And if he knows what's best for him, he won't show up here." Even as she said it, she already knew that at one point, the blonde was going to make an entrance. She didn't know when, but she had a hunch it was going to be soon.

Jiraiya scanned his perimeter. "Are you going to be summoning Katsuyu?" He asked, mentioning the head slug and Tsunade's summon.

"If things become worse than they are. But I'll have to leave the village in order to do so. I don't want to cause more damage to it than there already is." As if on cue, a loud explosion came from within the village, followed by screams of pain.

"I hear ya there. I don't know if I'll be able too, but I'll try to summon Gamabunta."

"Let's just hope things don't turn out badly to where we have three head summoning's out."

Another explosion occurred in the village, this time sounding closer to the two. Jiraiya glanced behind him and his eyes sought out where the two explosions were.

"Looks like we'll have to redecorate the Elder's tower." There was no regret or disappointment in his voice but amusement.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Let's just hope the old hags are okay." She didn't dwell on the thought for too long before her attention was brought back to Orochimaru when she noticed a movement coming from him. She stared, wondering what was different. Both summoner and summon looked exactly the same just a second ago. Why—

Cutting her thought bubble off, her reflexes kicked into overdrive and she jumped high into the air to deflect a hundred or so weapons headed in her direction. She didn't even have to say anything to her former comrade since he had disappeared from spot to evade the attack.

Just as she reached the highest climax of her jump and gravity started to bring her down, her peripheral vision caught sight of the weapons that were thrown at her had a mind of their own. Instead of hitting the ground where she was just standing, they seemed to angle upwards and with the same force as before, were accelerating towards her.

Slightly confused but not showing it, the Hokage used some of her chakra to use the air around her as a solid surface to get the hell out of there. She back flipped in the air and landed on the ground with grace but didn't have time to do anything as the weapons continued their pursuit. They seemed to have her on some kind of tracker.

Bracing herself, she pulled out a kunai out of nowhere and started to deflect the weapons aiming at her face from above. They all came at once, making her hands a blur to anyone who was watching as she tried to protect herself. Every time she deflected one, they would bounce off and hit the ground like a normal knife would and stayed there. Only a few stray ones managed to hit their mark, but only left behind a small scratch.

When the last one was deflected, Tsunade straightened her stance and looked around. A scratch on her cheek caused a slow line of blood to flow freely down her face.

"What the hell was that?" She asked no one in particular as she stared at the graveyard of weapons surrounding her. And more importantly, who had made her a target. She glanced up, looking for her attacker when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg. When her eyes sought out the pain, she noticed a kunai there. But what caught her attention was the weapons that lay stuck in the ground started to move. At first just a little but then started to move faster like a vibration.

"Shit…" She mumbled. Quickly she kicked off the ground once more, this time using a little chakra to launch her higher into the air. But as soon as her feet came off the ground, the weapons did too. They turned around and launched themselves after her.

**Kakashi's POV**

He was battling a group of idiots that barely knew what they were doing. He had to admit, he was a bit insulted. But nonetheless, he battled them, taking them out in a couple of seconds. But just as they went down, another group easily replaced them. They were like ants, multiplying at fast numbers and there wasn't much he could do. He refused to use chakra, saving it until he was in dire need.

Kakashi took out the new group within another couple of seconds and before giving a third group to notice his easy victory, he pushed off of the ground for some place high. Ever since that dumb ass Keo sought him out to take his leadership on the West side, he hadn't seen the ANBU ninja anywhere. He only knew where he was because of when Sasuke radioed everyone about their situations. He, much like everyone else in pretty much the whole village, didn't like Keo and thought of him as a dumb ass. There was good reason, but right now it being the man left his post to someone else to go do something else. Irresponsible idiot.

As his eyes scanned the West side of the village, trying to get an estimate on the numbers, a blur caught his eye. He turned his head and watched the movement. At first, he was a little startled. Tsunade was running and jumping everywhere, like a kid playing tag. Ninja style. Following her was hundreds of sharp objects, most of them kunai. When she moved this way, they followed. When she some crazy move trying to lose the weapons, they instantly followed. She even teleported to a different spot but somehow the kunai knew where she was. It was like they had a sensor on her. Or like someone was controlling them…

Having it hidden ever since the battle started, Kakashi pulled his headband up from his eye and blinked open his left eye. The sharingan came to life. Both eyes scanned the whole battle field for anything highly suspicious. To be able to control a numerous amount of weapons, you had to be seeing what you were doing, especially if you had them targeting someone. The person could still be a good ways, just as long as they have some sort of view.

He wouldn't have admitted it, but he almost scanned over an enemy standing very still on an abandoned roof. It was a woman dressed in a tight black outfit that seemed to hug her body nicely, showing off her curves. She had a sword strapped to her back along with a few pouches strapped to her legs, holding probably different types of weapons. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and in front of her, her hands were crossed at the wrists and her hands in firsts. It was such an abnormal stance, Kakashi assumed she was the one controlling the weapons aimed at his hokage.

He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but the woman seemed slightly familiar. He had to of seen her before, maybe a couple of days ago? But, he didn't put anymore time or thought on the matter as he held out his right hand and started to gather chakra to his palm to create his favorite technique. The Chidori. This woman had some nerve attacking his hokage.

**Sakura's POV**

Wiping sweat off of her brow, she patted one of the Genin on the shoulder, signaling that he were all healed up. The eleven year old grinned real bright before scampering off to re-join the battle, eager to show his class mates and friends that he could still fight. Watching him, the young medic ninja couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain enter her stomach. The little kid, full of so much energy reminded her of her old comrade in their days of youth. Now, so much had changed.

"Sakura!" A voice got her attention.

Said name pulled her gaze away from where the boy had disappeared to where a group of newly wounded Leaf Ninja appeared.

"Right, I'm on it," She called back and quickly went to help aid the wounded. Ever since the battle started, she held her post at the medic tent right outside of the hospital. Those that were gravely injured took refuge in the hospital while those who broke something or had a bad cut stayed outside. Her time was spent healing one comrade after another so that they could rejoin the fight fully healed.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked a girl who looked no older than seventeen.

The girl held her arm up and a river of blood flowed freely down it. Her face was as pale as paper and she looked as though she was about to pass out standing. "And that's not all." She said weakly. "I think I may have sprained my ankle and -," She never got to say anything more before a kunai was embedded in the back of her throat. Instantly dead, her eyes lost its light and she fell forward with her eyes still opened. Sakura had no time to catch the poor girl before she had to dodge out of the way as a wave of weapons was hurled in her direction.

"Scatter!" She cried out, hoping everyone heard her and moved out of the way before they too, were killed or injured.

Glancing around her, Sakura saw a large group of enemy ninja heading their way, weapons drawn and looking for more blood. She looked over her shoulder and yelled out, "Those of you that can fight defend the hospital at all costs. The rest of you, take shelter." She turned back and prepared herself for battle to help keep the hospital safe.

**Jiraiya's POV**

Jumping from one building to the other, Jiraiya surveyed his surroundings. In all honesty, he couldn't tell which side was winning. There were so many enemy ninja that he couldn't keep track of the numbers. Somehow, they just keep popping up. Thankfully, Konoha was holding its own, but he didn't know for how much longer. The ninja would tire soon and their fighting would get sloppy if things were to continue to go as it was. And things could get ugly.

One thing he did notice when he was making rounds was that Orochimaru was holding back on them. He had his stronger ninja still on the sidelines, just waiting for the right opportunity. He only knew of one strong ninja in Konoha fighting, but he saw Kakashi fighting her, after helping Tsunade out with the killer, tracking weapons.

Jiraiya paused from his jumping and landed on a familiar roof. He paid his landing no attention, knowing exactly who used to living in the apartment a few years ago, and looked out in the enemies ranks. Orochimaru still hadn't moved from his spot on top of Manda and the snake seemed pleased by the body count that continued to rise, from either side.

"Err…" He mumbled, his hands curling into fists at his side. He wanted ever so badly to summon Gamabunta but he couldn't. Summoning the chief toad would end in disaster because one, the last time he tired to summon him, it left him in the hospital for a month (Because Chief found out what happened to Naruto) and two, the village would be crushed. There wasn't enough room to summon the toad let alone having a big enough space for two gigantic summons fighting. For once, he was feeling useless. How were they going to get rid of Manda if he couldn't summon Gamabunta? Or any summon big enough to fight the snake?

**Gaara's POV**

"**Sand Coffin."** Gaara closed his fists just as the sand around him closed around a group of twenty enemy ninja, forming a rather large ball that floated an inch off the ground. The sand suddenly tightened and the cries and yells that were muffled by the wall of sand was abruptly cut off as the sand turned a dark crimson color. Gaara turned away from the sight as the sand fell away and calmly walked away. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was getting a little restless. The ninja that kept coming at him were all so weak and it felt like he was being toyed with. At first, he planned on not using any chakra, but after the enemy ninja just kept coming, he wanted a break so he brought out his most lethal jutsu and easily put an end to their lives. He wasn't proud of it; he was just tired of the easy targets. Now he didn't have to waste any energy he had on weaklings.

Soundlessly, he jumped away from the graveyard he was just in to a higher place. He didn't even touch the ground before someone, a man, came at him with a sword. At first, the Sand ninja easily dodged and was pulling his hands up to control the sand around him when something out of the ordinary happened. His opponent guessed what the ninja's next move was and preformed his own jutsu, forming a deadly fire around them.

The fire seemed to lick across the hard earth around them, touching every surface that held sand. Gaara watched calmly, already aware of what the man was doing.

"Now," his opponent smirked and looked Gaara dead in the eyes. "You can't use your precious sand."

"Turning the sand to glass from the extreme heat of the flames, I must admit, I'm a little impress." Gaara said, not at all sounding impressed. "Not many of my opponents have used that against me yet."

The man kept his smirk and the fire around them slowly went out. All around the two, bright glittery specks appeared everywhere. Small fragments of glass.

"But I should probably tell you," Gaara continued and smirked when he saw the man lose some of his smirk, "that just because you changed the property of my sand, doesn't mean I can't withdraw more elsewhere." And with that, a shadow appeared above the man.

Looking up, he barely had time to scream before sand same crashing down on him, crushing him against the earth. Gaara only looked away with boredom as the battle continued on.

**Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke had been non-stop fighting at the same time as being everywhere at once. He was first up at the gate, taking out as many enemies as he possibly could while defending the front. Then he was torn away when one of his own comrades was badly outnumbered and went to help. As soon as the situation was handled, he was informed that the hospital was under attack. Now, that was exactly where he was.

Punching a man who must have been in his early thirties square in the nose –hearing a sickening crunch at that too- he pulled his sword out from his sheath off of his back and ran it through someone's chest. He yanked it free and didn't even watch the man he had just killed crumple to the floor in a heap before he was on his next target.

"Thanks for the help," a breathless Sakura came over, helping him fight off a few people that came out of nowhere. She threw a couple of kunai at them, hitting their intended targets just as Sasuke slit someone's throat.

"No problem." He grunted. When no one was coming after him, he straightened his stance and glanced around. It seemed as though the area was clear –but for how long- just filled with dead bodies. "Do you think you can handle it from here?"

Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and looked around. "I think so. As long as there isn't another group coming out of nowhere, I should be able to hold the medic field. Maybe try to restore it so the hospital isn't over crowded."

Sasuke nodded. He sheathed his sword back up and was about to leave the ground to go back to the North gate when an incredible, loud hiss shook the ground.

Both shinobi's heads snapped up at the sound and their eyes sought out the noise. At the North gate, starting to make its move towards the village, was Manda. The snake decided to join the battle. Orochimaru just stood calmly on his summon with a smirk lighting his face.

"Shit," they both muttered in unison.

"If he's making his move now," Sakura wondered aloud, her face paling just the slightest.

"Then the rest of his force is on their way." Sasuke grimly added. "And we're already outnumbered as it is."

"How will we be able to cope with all of them? I mean, yeah the weaker ninja came in first, but with their numbers we're separated and focused on them. With the rest of Orochimaru's ranks coming in, who knows how strong they are. We can't fight all of them at once!"

"We'll have too." The ANBU captain glanced over at his old team member and gave her a rare, encouraging half smile. "Just focus on healing the injured. I'll be sending anyone who isn't too busy to help defend the hospital. Just try to heal as fast as you can; we'll be needed all the help we can get."

Sakura nodded. Her face hardened and she twirled around and was about to run into the hospital and something stopped her. The sound of the earth rumbling and the loud battle cry caught her attention as well as Sasuke's. They both turned around to see Manda opening his mouth and taking aim at the village. He sprang forward with only a grace snakes had when attacking their food. As soon as he took off, time seemed to slow down.

One minute the snake was moving forward, the next, a rather large mass of orange knocked against the reptile, knocking it off course. The snake went flying sideways and hit the ground, sliding against the hard surface and knocking trees and any poor unfortunate souls aside. Manda came to a stop a few hundred yards away, but still seeable from inside the village. He looked pissed and a little confused. What had hit him?

Almost everyone in the village, good or bad, stopped fighting to see what had pushed the great Manda out of his attack. To have stopped that big of a summon and send him flying. And what they found had some people shrieking in fear.

Standing in the trees besides the village was the Nine-Tailed fox, her back arched as she glared and hissed at Manda. And standing upon her head was none other than Naruto and Sana Uzumaki.

Naruto, with his arms crossed at his chest and a smirk on his face, surveyed his surroundings and spoke to where everyone could hear him, "Y'all started without me?"

**XxxxX**

Until next time!

And yes, I just _had _to add Naruto saying something similar to that. Reminds me of his old personality.

Now I know a lot of the chapter is blah, because you know how I am with battle scenes, but live with it. If it's any way confusing, let me know and I'll either explain it to you or just rewrite it. :P And to let you know, I do NOT plan on going into details with other people's fighting. I'm really only gonna focus on Naruto and Sana and when they fight because I suck at writing. And it'll be less stress on me if I only have to focus on two people.

Please tell me what you think!


	26. Battle Begins with New and Old Foes

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well. **

**Chapter 26**

**Naruto's POV**

Cries of fear came from both sides as well as shouts of confusion. "It's the Nine-tails!" "How is she here? How was she summoned?" "Run! She's going to kill us like she did our parents and friends!" "Which side is she on?" "Some get the Elders!" And even more cries came out. Some even about himself. "I thought he was dead!" "Maybe he's a ghost coming back for revenge!" "It's Naruto!" "He's alive!" "What're we going to do?"

Naruto didn't pay them any attention. He did a quick survey of the battle grounds and noticed that some of the village was in rubble. There were many dead bodies littering the ground and pools of blood seeping out of them, staining the dusty streets a dark red. Naruto could tell that the bodies were from both sides and felt a twinge of sorrow to see the lives of the young were the majority that scattered the area. He quickly adverted his gaze and found a lot of his old comrades watching him with looks of disbelief, but those looks were also full of excitement.

Down below, he caught sight of a certain blonde hair hokage shaking her head and another certain red-head Kazekage (even from here) rolling his eyes.

"Well, well, well," a voice cut through Naruto's search and brought his eyes to the one speaking. "Naruto Uzumaki has finally joined the party. And even brought his sister with him." Orochimaru was standing on the Leaf's gate, acting like he had been there the whole time. He didn't even seem to show interest that his summon was just hurled hundreds of feet away.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he felt his sister rise from her sitting position. She clung to his side but stood her ground. And just to give her a little more courage, Naruto uncrossed his arms and laid a hand upon her shoulder.

"You ready?" He whispered to her, barely moving his mouth.

Sana barely nodded her head.

"And if you get into trouble or a tight spot, find me." Naruto added.

She nodded once again.

"Well, let's get this show on the road." Out loud, he yelled to the enemies on the battle ground, "I'm giving you one minute to get your ass out of this village and get away as fast as you can before you become a tailed-beast's meal." And just to add effect, Kyuubi lightly growled, though her eyes remained on her own opponent who was straightening up and glaring daggers at her.

No one moved inside the village, let alone anywhere else. Naruto only shrugged his shoulders, muttering how it was their lost, before he disappeared from his perch and reappeared in the air a couple of yards away. His hands were crossed in the form of a familiar hand sign and he yelled out, "Time to even the odds! **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Hundreds upon hundreds of Naruto's suddenly appeared all over the area of the sky. Orange, black and a whisk of blonde was all the ninja's saw before the battle resumed.

XxxxX

**Normal POV**

With the hundreds of newly added Naruto's coming to the Leaf's rescue, the odds were indeed becoming even. Instead of the numbers being four or five to one, it was more like one on one. More deaths started to become the enemies as the younger ninja were no longer being ambushed. Most Leaf shinobi were relieved that they had a helping hand while some were feeling a little awkward and doubtful.

Over in a wide open field where many battles was, many familiar faces were there fighting. The clones appeared and began helping. As the fights continued, a light conversation started.

"Naruto! I thought you were dead!" Rock Lee exclaimed as he punched his own opponent hard in the gut and then bringing his knee up in a flash, kneeing him in the chin. He heard a loud _pop _as the jaw bone snapped out of place.

The clone grinned as he himself battled an enemy ninja, using tijutsu. Fists went flying as well as blood. "So did everyone else in the village," The Naruto clone chuckled.

Fighting next to them was Kiba; his trusted companion Akamaru somewhere else in the mass of people. "But why?" He asked. He raked his long nails in someone's face, sending them falling to the ground clutching their heavily bleeding face.

"So the Leaf village didn't have to worry about me anymore." He explained. "So I could live my life not having to worry about coming into the Fire County and being ambushed all the time or attacked." His opponent went down, knock unconscious with a rather large bruise on the back of his neck. The clone went to his next opponent, relieving Tenten of watching her back. He threw a kunai at an enemy running in his direction and the kunai landed in his thigh. Yet, the nin continued coming, hardly slowing his pace down.

"I'm glad you didn't die and all, but why didn't you tell any of us?" Tenten asked and punched her opponent. Her opponent gladly punched back and nicked her in the cheek with a surprised weapon in hand. But Tenten didn't seem to notice or care as she brought out a Shuriken and swung it at the enemy. He went down with a deep gash in his stomach and died before he touched the ground.

From his pouch, Naruto brought out a few senbon he acquired just recently and aimed them at the man getting closer and closer. He threw them and as quickly as he had thrown them, brought out a new weapon before charging the man head on. The needles hit and embedded themselves at the enemy with gusto and from the force of the attack, sent him flying back. As gravity began to bring him down, Naruto threw his weapon of choice at the moment –a shuriken- at the man, sending if flying for the final kill.

"So you wouldn't come looking for me." He answered. Naruto looked around after his kill and noticed the area was beginning to clear up a bit. Some of his old comrades were finishing up with their fight before they stopped and watched him. "That was supposed to be my final goodbye. If you knew I wasn't dead, there would be suspicion among certain ninja here and they would have some way or another find out the truth." He shrugged.

Shino, who had been quietly in combat but finished, walked over at the same time as everyone else did. He came to a stop in front of the Naruto clone and did something no one saw coming. He punched the clone straight in the face. "That's for lying to us." He said calmly.

Naruto grinned and brushed the side of his face with his hand. He smirked and glanced at all of his old comrades that were here. "I guess I deserve that."

Kiba looked as though he wanted to do the same thing but ended up saying, "After this is all over, we're going out for a drink. And you're coming whether you want to or not."

"But-,"

"And we'll make sure your sister just drinks some juice or something." Tenten added, remembering he now had a sister, most likely not of age yet. She grinned at him.

Naruto could all but roll his eyes and agree. It was the least he could do for them.

"Alright. I guess I'll come."

"Oh, you are coming alright!" Lee fist pumped the air in front of him. "You don't have much of a choice!"

XxxxX

**Two hours later…**

The battle was still raging. The numbers were still pretty even and there were only a few deaths coming from the Leaf. More and more bodies strewn the ground coming from the other side and their blood stained the dusty floor. Of the hundreds of Naruto's that had been summoned, only a few 'died' but there was always more to be replaced. The clones were everywhere, aiding almost everyone whether they needed the help or not. Quite few Naruto's were helping to protect the hospital as well as helping the injured with simple wounds.

Out of the village but close to the gates, a single Naruto was engaged with a group of the enemies. He was hardly panting and had barely any wounds littering his body. His expression was calm as he dodged flying weapons and limb and occasionally threw in punches of his own. His opponents didn't know it, but he was merely teasing them, having them think they had cornered him. When really, Naruto was barely paying them any attention as kept track of what was going on throughout the whole village, using his clones to 'see' everything.

The numbers in the group started to die down. Naruto kicked one man in the chest, sending him flying and colliding with someone else. The two people flew through the air where they ended up against a building, bringing it down on top of them. No movement was made after that.

"I'll kill you for doing that!" A woman shrieked, whipping her head from the scene to the blonde man.

Naruto rolled his eyes as his focus was directed at her. "Sure you will." He muttered under his breath. He waited maybe a second and the woman who had threatened him came at him. She swung her fists with a knife sticking out of one end in which he easily dodged it and as soon as he did, she caught herself and immediately used the fall as a spin to kick her leg out. Naruto caught her leg in one hand while the other disappeared and he brought it down upon the back of her neck. Her body immediately slumped downward, unconscious from the blow. Naruto gently helped her to the ground before he switched his attention to the battle field once again.

Those he had been fighting just minutes before were laying either unconscious or dead on the ground. Only a few of their chests rose and fell, presenting their beating hearts still alive and healthy. He turned his gaze away from them and quickly stepped out of the area. But as soon as he left the circle, a loud explosion to his right was animated. He froze and his gaze shot to find a big cloud of dust in the air. Next to it was Kyuubi, her jaw wrapped around Manda's middle. The snake was on the ground, having been thrown by the overly big fox and he let out a horrible anger-filled hiss before he surged upwards with lightning speed and attacked the fox. Kyuubi released her hold and backed a few yards (since feet to her would be like inches to humans) away to be able to swat the oncoming snake with her paws.

Knowing his summon was capable of her own battles, Naruto lost focus on the two and was immediately on edge. He back flipped three paces away with a kunai was already in his hands as he faced the spot where he was just occupying. A second later, an exploding tag landed on the ground and blew up.

With narrow eyes, Naruto glanced up and found a figure casually walking towards him with a sadistic grin on his face. He stood out from anybody Naruto had ever faced and yet, there was no mistaking that face from anywhere. Covering one side of his face were ugly scars from previous battles. One of them was as long as his face, starting way up in his hair line and going all the way down to the end of his jaw. It was as white as snow, healed nicely after it had been damaged. The others were smaller and pinker, showing with age. The other side of his face was almost perfect, flawless smooth skin, perfect smile and his hair was all there.

"Well, well, well, so we meet again, Naruto Uzumaki." The man said. In one hand, dragging against the ground, was the biggest hammer in history. It must have weighed a good ton from the amount of metal used to create it. The handle of the hammer was maybe two yards long and about as thick as the circumference of a big ramen bowl at Ramen Ichiraku; about seven inches in diameter. There was a worn down band on the handle where you held the weapon. The metal, taking the shape of a normal hammer except for the back where it was just a point instead of the claw, was gleaming with a crimson red and had a slow and steady stream coming down off of it. The man looked as big and dangerous as the weapon he dragged behind him. He was shirtless, showing off his huge, well-built chest that was littered with even more scars than his face. Battle scars. His eight pack showed and gleamed with a thin layer of sweat from the battle still raging. The pants he wore had many tears and cuts in them, blood soaking the edges of them.

Naruto straighten up but his grip on the weapons tightened. He glared at the man who calmly continued to walk towards him. The noise the hammer was making as it was dragged behind its owner was drowned out but the sound of war. But Naruto didn't need to actually hear the noise as he could remember it clearly from when he fought against it many years ago.

"So we have," Naruto commented. He watched as his new opponent came to a stop a couple of yards away from him. He dropped his weapons a little to the side and leaned against it, looking as if he was about to have a calm and relaxing conversation. His arms casually crossed at his chest and besides his grin, his eyes bore the hint of boredom.

"You don't look surprised to see me, Blondie." The man said and mocked a little hurt in his voice. "After all this time, I thought you'd be excited to see me."

Naruto said nothing. To be honest, he was a little surprised to see him, especially now of all days. The last time he had seen this man, he was half dead and running for his life, making lifeless threats that sounded desperate even to children's ears.

_Flashback!_

"_Why… why did you have to kill them?" An exhausted Naruto asked, crouching on the ground with his life force slowly seeping out of him. "You told me yourself that you'd do anything to protect them that they were your family. Why did you kill them?" _

_The man just grinned as he leaned against his hammer with ease. Unlike his partner, he was almost in perfect condition save a few gashes on his arms and legs. He was hardly panting and although he had beads of sweat slide down his face, no one would have imagined he had been in a fight. _

"_I only told you that so you wouldn't suspect me." The man said. "I was paid highly to kill these people."_

_Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Two weeks ago, he was dispatched on a solo mission from the Sand to go and protect a family that was being targeted by an assassin. The mission was to go for as long as it needed and since most of the Sand shinobi had other missions to attend and couldn't be out for weeks on end if that was what it came down to, Naruto decided to take the mission. Gaara had signed the agreement papers and gave him all of the information he needed. And soon after that, he left and headed out to the Land of Glory. The information provided him that he was to protect a family of three; mother, daughter and son, and keep them from anything suspicious. It had been said that a village council from a few villages away had wanted the family dead because the father of the three had messed that village's government up with lies. No one knew why he had done it, but it had caused a huge commotion that the council had killed the man and wanted his family slaughtered. Because the council were targeting the innocent, and decided to send a highly trained assassin to get rid of the family, the ninja's got involved. Not to mention the assassin was a wanted man, having slaughtered many villages before. _

_The information also addressed that he would be meeting up with another man to help protect the family. The only description of the man it gave was he wielded a humongous hammer. Naruto was to meet up with him at a certain place and time and then both were to make their way to the village. _

_It took two days from the Sand to the meeting place where his partner was already waiting for him. He had been leaning against a tree, shaded from the blazing sun. Besides him, laying flat on the ground was the named weapon from his information packet. After exchanging a polite greeting and names –his name is Keith-, the two set off, only making conversation when needed. _

_They arrived at their destination within three days and immediately sought out the family. In the two weeks of guarding them, Naruto became used to his partner Keith and trusted him. They would often train together and talk about anything all the while keeping the family safe. And after a couple of days upon their first arrival, they grew close to the family and became friends. The mother treated the two with utmost respect and would always tend to whatever they needed and the kids –the daughter seventeen and the son eleven- admired them. They all got along fairly nicely. _

_At the end of the first week having been there, they were attacked by a group of men aiming to kill the family and Keith had announced his promise then that he would keep the family safe no matter what. From how Naruto took to know him, for him to say such words meant a lot. He was among one of the few who kept their promises no matter what. The men had been disposed of but Naruto knew they weren't the ones his report had been talking about. _

_The longer he spent time with the family and Keith, the more he came to trusting all of them. Besides the Sand village, Keith had been one of the few people he had become to trust again after his banishment which had only been fourteen months ago. But, he was a fool to completely trust his so called partner. At the end of two weeks, they were all attacked once again but this time, the group that attacked them had many numbers. Over thirty well trained men. When Naruto and Keith went out to intercept them in battle, Keith switched sides, betraying the family he had sworn to protect and the man he had used. Keith and his men battled with Naruto but there were simply too many and Naruto was at a loss. Keith had dragged the family out of their shelter and murdered them in front of the blonde, all the while wearing a cruel grin. _

"_Did you really believe," Keith asked, snapping Naruto back to the present, "I would become friends with the likes of you?" He walked forward and aimed a kick into the blonde's midsection, watching as he curled up on his side. "Become friends with a 'demon'?" He spat the word like it tasted awful. _

_Naruto remained silent, waiting for the right opportunity to spring into action. He wished ever so badly that he could make his revenge on Keith and everyone else. Why would you murder the innocent? _

"_You trust too easily," Keith stated and kicked out with his foot again, this time managing to put more force into it and having Naruto skid a few feet. "You make friends with people way too easily. You need to learn that not everyone can be trusted."_

"_Y-you'll be sorry you… you did this." Naruto managed to say. Blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth and he struggled to sit up. He spat out a mouthful of his own blood to the side and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. _

_Keith threw his head back and had the nerve to let out a booming laugh. At the sound of his laughing, his men stopped what they were doing –some keeping watch while the rest (that were still alive; Naruto didn't go down without a fight) gathered dry weeds and wood and kerosene and throwing it in the house along with the three dead bodies- and began to laugh as well. _

_With their attention a little distracted, Naruto took the opportunity to stand up on his feet. Right then and there, he was wishing for Kyuubi's healing ability. But he had found out that before Keith had switched sides, he had somehow managed to slip a chakra suppressor into his tea. So during the battle, Naruto couldn't use any of his chakra and for some reason, couldn't make conversation with his tailed-beast. _

_Naruto blinked sweat out of his eyes and ignored the pounding sensation in his head. _

"_You think that's funny?" Naruto demanded in a quiet voice._

_Somehow, Keith had heard him and stopped laughing and glanced at him. Though he wasn't laughing anymore, there was clear amusement in his eyes. "Actually, I kind of do." Around him, his men quieted down and went back to what they were doing. Keith watched his supposed defeated opponent straighten up. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a little surprised to see that Naruto could stand, much less have a look of death upon him. _

_Naruto shook his head and a small smile formed on his face. But his smile held no amusement or happiness. "I'll show you what's funny and then we'll see whose laughing last." He said. _

_Keith frowned and only had enough time to bring his arm up to his face before Naruto was there, kicking him in the face with his foot. The man went flying from the force and ended up snapping trees in half that were in his path. At least a good fifteen trees went down as his velocity finally slowed. _

_Naruto didn't get to stay and watch to see if his opponent recovered or not. As soon as their leader went flying, his lackys stopped what they were doing and charged at the blonde. This time, Naruto didn't hold back. He attacked and dodged and fought. The enemies didn't know what hit them, their vision darkened by their confusion. Where had this monstrous strength and energy come from? Moments before he was lying on the ground, exhausted and so beat up he could barely move. _

_Without even realizing it, the numbers started to dwindle. He started off with more than thirty and he was now at twenty. Seventeen. Thirteen. Ten. Seven. Two. And then there were no more. _

_Panting rather hard, Naruto ignored the blood running down his face and his aching muscles. Exhaustion was setting in but he blocked it out, knowing that this battle was not done yet. He looked around for the last person and found him leaning against a tree, his arms crossed loosely at his chest, watching him. Blood was running down the side of his face as well and there were many cuts all over him. He wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. But simply watched the blonde ninja. _

_No words were said between the two. They watched each other for another minute before the fighting began. _

_Naruto ran at Keith the same time Keith ran at Naruto. Both of them drew weapons, a kunai and a dagger, and they clashed against each other. In a battle of strength, Keith managed to shove Naruto back and started to slash out with his weapon. Naruto dodged and remained in defense for a couple of seconds, having no opens to switch his position. _

"_You failed at protecting these people," Keith spat, swinging his dagger and managing to open a new wound on Naruto's arm. Blood spilled out and ran freely down his arm. "You failed your mission and you failed at life."_

_Naruto didn't say anything. He wasn't one to listen to his opponents anymore when they insulted him. He had enough of that in his past, he was going to take no more. Waiting for an opening, he muttered, "At least I didn't give up. At least I'm keeping my word to protect them." And he found his chance. Keith had made one of his swings too long, giving the blonde enough time to slash upwards with his kunai. The blade managed to cut into Keith's face, going deeper than any of the other wounds he had ever received. _

"_Gah!" He cried out and backed away, clutching his heavily bleeding face with his hands. His hands covered half of his face from where Naruto had slashed upwards, up to his hairline. "You little bastard!" He shrieked and his one visible eye glared at his opponent. "You're a dead man!"_

_Naruto showed no emotion. Instead, he ran at the bleeding man and began his attacks. _

_Half blinded with blood dripping into his eye, Keith's fighting grew sloppy. He tried to fight off Naruto but he was in pain and seeing red at the same time. He barely held his own. And Naruto didn't go easy on him because of this. _

_A couple of minutes later, Naruto backed away from the crumpled form that laid on the ground, hardly moving. He stared down with disgust written on his face and he told him, "I hope this has taught you a lesson. Never keep promises you can't keep. Especially if you don't intent to keep them anyways." Not wanting to take pity on the man who has done so much damage to not just him, but the people in the past, he went for a killing move. _

_Before Naruto could move a muscle, however, Keith, who shouldn't have been able to move, sprang to his feet and threw a flash bomb at Naruto's feet. The clearing was illuminated with light, blinding anybody and everybody who were there. Totally caught off guard, Naruto was blinded as well. And by the time the light disappeared and he could see again, the spot where Keith had just occupied was empty. Keith had made his escape and fled the scene. _

_End of Flashback_

Coming out of the past, Naruto just glared at the man in front of him. The scar he had given him seemed to stand out even more. It looked as though it had healed nicely in the few years it had been, but it was still ugly was a bright pink color.

Noticing where the blond was looking, the man named Keith, grinned and lightly touched his scar. His fingers traced all along the long line. "Admiring the mark you left me?" He asked. He didn't sound angry just really calm like they were having a normal conversation. "You know, after I got it, I was pretty pissed at you and wanted revenge. But the longer time went on, I came to liking the new addition. More people became scared of me. If they didn't know who I was, one look at this scar and they knew from stories." He stopped touching the side of his face and glanced at Naruto. He gave a lazy grin. "I should be thanking you, you know."

Naruto looked at him with disgust. "I don't want your thanks."

Keith just shrugged his shoulders, "Suit yourself, blondie." He rolled his shoulders and then took notice of his surroundings. He let out a low whistle when he caught sight of the damaged village. "One hell of a sight." He said.

Growing impatient with the man in front of him, Naruto growled out, "What do you want, Keith? Why're you here?" And more importantly, how did you know where to find me? He mentally thought. He never would have thought he would see him again.

The questions brought Keith's attention back to Naruto's. He grinned and shifted his weight. Naruto tensed, eyeing the way Keith's hand started to grip the handle of his weapon. But instead of attacking, he answered, "I'm here because you are. That creepy guy, one that looks like a snake? He sought me out, somehow knowing about me wanting to take my revenge on you. He said he had an army in the making and they were going to attack a village that you still held dear to you. And he even said that you were going to be here. I've been looking for you for the last three years and the first time I hear of word of your whereabouts, I took it. We still have unfinished business to attend too."

Naruto fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, you found me." He said.

Keith grinned. "Yes I have. And I'll tell you this now; I'm not the same person as I was before. Much like how you've been training, so have I." He didn't give any warning before his grip on his weapon tightened. And as if in slow motion, he picked his hammer up and spun in a three-sixty circle before throwing it at where Naruto was still standing.

Because of the laws of gravity and physics, the hammer should have moved slowly with its weight and all. But one to know that that the law of science was always ignored in battles, Naruto didn't take a chance. And because of this, it saved his life.

Instead of the weapon taking it's time to get to him because of its weight, it looked as though it weight nothing more than a kunai. Right when it left its owner's hands, it came speeding at Naruto with such speed that it was a blur. Naruto only had time to dodge to the side before he got hit by the metal. But as soon as he was out of the target area, he was in the danger zone once more. Keith came at him with as much speed as did his weapon. He was there in a blink of an eye and started throwing punches and kicks at Naruto. With years of training, Naruto was able to deflect all of them without breaking a sweat.

"You've gotten faster," Naruto commented, swiftly dodging a kick aimed for his head, "But not fast enough." Breaking out of playing defense, he struck out with a punch aimed for Keith's midsection. He managed to make contact and readied himself for another strike but never got the chance. Instead of his opponent doubling over in pain, Keith just took it without a grimace and pulled back and struck Naruto in the shoulder.

"I may not be as fast, but I have muscles made of steel now. Every kick, every punch you manage to get won't hurt me." He stated. He aimed another few punches at Naruto who deflected every one of them.

Without showing it on his face, Naruto frowned. This was going to be an interesting fight.

Back flipping to get out of Keith's personal space, Naruto moved his hands and aimed at creating hand signs to begin a new jutsu when Keith appeared once again at lightning speed. He blocked the hand signs and punched Naruto hard in the face, sending him flying backwards. But he wasn't done yet. He vanished where he was and reappeared behind Naruto, stopping him from flying backwards by throwing his hands down at the back of Naruto's neck. The blonde went crashing downwards, making an indention into the earth.

Dirt and dust filled the air when Keith walked over to the creator. He half expected to see the blonde to be unconscious. What he didn't expect when he glanced down at the hole when the air cleared was Naruto to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Above you," A voice came out of nowhere.

Keith tense and dodged quickly to the side. A millisecond later, a second creator appeared where he had just been standing. He started to straighten up but barely had time to when a dark flash zoomed out of the hole and at him. He only had time to throw up his hands up in defense before Naruto began throwing punches in every which way.

'_He got faster… A lot faster.' _Keith thought. While he stayed in defense, he quickly let his glaze slide away from his opponents, looking for his weapon of choice. About five yards away from where they currently were, his weapon laid on its side, its handle in the air. He grinned. Naruto only had a second to see the smile before he was forced into defense when Keith managed to use brute force and shoved him backwards. Instead of going after him, Keith ran away from him.

Knowing what he was doing, Naruto quickly formed hand signs and let his chakra form into the palm of his hand in one of his favorite signature jutsu's. The wind quickly gathered into his palm and started to form a star-like shape as chakra merged into the shape as well. Within seconds, the shape was completed and ready for use.

Naruto ran at Keith with his new weapon just as Keith made a grab for his hammer. When he swung around, Naruto met him and both weapons intercepted. A loud explosion took place, forcing both men backwards. Wind whipped around them and chucks of earth went with them.

It was silent between the two, only the sounds of war in the background continued on. When the air began to clear, both men were slowly getting to their feet, both at different ends of the battle field. Naruto brushed rubble from the building he had just collided with off of his clothes. He shook his head and tiny particles escaped from his hair. Across the field, Keith rolled his shoulders back and popped his neck. Many scratches that oozed blood came from both of them.

"I thought you had to have clones to be able to produce that jutsu," Keith shouted, somewhat impressed by the outcome.

Naruto just smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "After a couple of years in training, you learn how to master some justu's. I learned to make hand signs in substitution of shadow clones. It's faster that way."

Keith nodded. "And what do you call that jutsu again?" He remembered years back when they were on the mission that Naruto had failed, the kid had been training in the forest with another shadow clone. And he used that jutsu. He just couldn't remember the name.

"The Rasenshuriken." Naruto answered him. He rolled his shoulders back and felt them pop. The scratches along his arms and a few on his face stung but there was nothing he could do about them. With Kyuubi out, her chakra wasn't going to heal him. He could deal with these ones. No problem.

Once again Keith nodded. He didn't say anything as the battle resumed and he went straight for his weapon that survived the explosion. As soon as his hand touched the handle, Naruto was there once again. He didn't have any other justu's formed so Keith easily swung his hammer around. Naruto jumped free of the danger area and jumped high into the air. He pulled paper bombs from his pouch and when he was at his peak, threw them down. Keith didn't move or dodged, he just swung his heavy weapon in a circle above his head like it was the lightest thing in the world.

The paper bombs struck the rotation of the hammer and exploded on impact. Naruto, before the explosion took place, disappeared out of the range of it and reappeared a few yards away, a kunai in his hand. He gave his opponent no time to recuperate before he was at him, throwing attack after attack. Keith had gone from deflecting the bombs to guarding his body from the numerous hits.

Thirty seconds later, Naruto had managed to embed his weapon into Keith's thigh before jumping backwards. Keith managed to keep a yelp of surprise in from the wound. He shouldn't have been able to puncture his skin! His skin was like iron!

As if reading his mind, Naruto smirked and said, "No one is untouchable." Seeing an end in the battle soon, he brought out another weapon and went in for another attack.

**XxxxX**

**Until next time! I'm going to end it here for now. It's a pretty long chapter, but don't worry, I have more battle scenes in mind. Next chapter you'll be able to read about Sana and her fighting skills. It's about time you get to read about her. **

**Okay, I'm just going to let you know that when I was writing and introducing Keith, I totally pictured the Executioner in Resident Evil with its bad ass hammer thing. **** Don't know why. And I only added him into the story to give you another little peak at what Naruto's life was like before Sana. I didn't really talk much about the time before, so why not now in flashbacks? **** Tell me if you like it or not. **


	27. Mission from the Land of Tea that Failed

Just to let you know, I will be coming up with new jutsu's as well as using old ones for not only Naruto but for Sana.

I don't really have that many more chapters left. But, I just wanted to say to y'all, as my readers, thank you so much for sticking with this story. I've been re-reading the chapters and there are so many mistakes and such. It's horribly written yet y'all continue to read the new chapters. Thank you for the reviews and the Author and Story alerts. Thank you guys. :')

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well. **

**Chapter 27**

**Sana's POV**

"Is that the best you got?" A woman who must have been no more than eighteen cooed as she dodged a kunai aimed for her head.

Sana could only smirk at the stupidity the woman was expressing thinking she had the upper hand in the situation. Before giving her opponent any time to perform any of her own attacks, Sana spun on her heel and stuck her leg out, letting her foot collide against the woman's exposed chest. The woman barely had time to bring her arms up to deflect the kick before she was sent flying through the air.

Instead of watching the enemy collided against multiple buildings and bringing them down on top of her, Sana turned around and went to her next opponent. Just as she was about to jump out of her empty battle field, chakra signatures hit her and right when she blinked, her empty battle field was filled with at least ten enemy ninja. They all wore grins on their faces and they all just happened to be males.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" One of the guys asked. He wore all black and had a plain black headband tied around his head, resting on his forehead. His dark colored eyes locked with Sana's bright green ones and his stance was a surprisingly calm one.

Sana froze at the sight of him and her hands curled into fists at her sides. She could feel her nails dig into her palms and felt a hot liquid bead at the wounds she was making. She didn't say anything but kept her eyes on the guys.

"Are you happy to see us again, little ninja?" A different guy asked, his voice coming from behind her.

"'Cuz we sure are surprised to see you." Another guy said.

With all of their taunting, Sana only moved her narrowed eyes to where each voice spoke. "How did you get out of prison?" Sana asked, trying her hardest to keep her voice calm although it held a hence of worry and irritation. She kept her attention on the one in front of her, the guy who spoke first as she tried to think of a plan to escape her current fight. She once got away from them only because Naruto helped her with it. Being on her own, there was a slim chance she would make it.

A guy with short, spiked up blue hair with a scar running across his face spoke, "You know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that." Without even having to face him, Sana could almost hear him shrug.

A different voice, this one having a distinct rough voice, added, "You have to know your people."

Sana suppressed a shiver, having hated his voice above all of the others. Memories of her time with these particular guys came flooding back to her mind and trying as hard as she could, forced them back. She wasn't going to let these guys get to her, no matter what. Just continue to question them, find out more information, and pray somebody comes and helps her. "It doesn't matter who you know," She said, "It's nearly impossible to get out of Physalis Castle." Everyone knew the prison was one of the most guarded places in all of the land. Nearly impossible to break out of.

"Like I said," the same guy said, "it all depends on who you know."

"Enough talk about the past," the guy in front of her said, waving his hand in the air as if to wave it aside, "I believe we have a score to settle with you, Sana Uzumaki. And it's about time it is settled."

There was no way Sana could stall anymore. All at once, the group of ten launched themselves at the girl, weapons and attacks raised. All she could do was stand there and hope for the best.

XxxxX

**Naruto's POV **

The kunai dropped from his grasp and fell beside the bloodied, crumpled form in from of him. Heavy breathing came from the both of them, one gasping for oxygen while the other tired after a long battle. The one laying on the ground slowly tilted his head up and set his gaze on the winner.

"It seems… y-you've w-won this time, B-blondie." Keith managed to muster up as blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth. His body twitched and he tried to hide the look of pain by smirking. "But d-don't be too s-sure… next time." A cough erupted through him, sending his body into a spasm. His eyes flickered to the back of his head to where only the white showed. After a minute or two, he regained his composure and his eyes went back to normal, if not a little more tired.

Naruto did not grin nor frown but had a neutral expression on his face. His opponent had done a number on him, but it was nowhere compared to what he did on his opponent. He stood tall with his back straight and tried to ignore the pain in his side where he knew at least two cracked ribs were. Cuts and gashes covered the rest of his body with a thin line of blood seeping through most of them. Some of them were already dry and crusted while others were still running freely. The worst one he had on him was at his thigh. Keith's hammer managed to slice him up, almost taking a good chuck of skin and muscle with it. Luckily, Naruto had been on his toes and got away with just the gash.

Compared to what Keith did to Naruto, going the other way, Naruto did a lot more damage. There was not one spot on the man where blood was not. All down his face the blood seeped where a gash started from his hair line and went horizontal. His nose was broken and his jaw almost dislocated. His left leg and right arm were both fractured, almost on the verge of being broken and his right leg torn to shreds as if a vicious dog had gotten to him. The man could not stand and probably wouldn't be able to the rest of his life, being if he lived long enough to even see tomorrow. A deep hole about the size of a fist was located on Keith's lower stomach where Naruto's Rasengan had managed to go all of the way through his flesh when Keith had lowered his guard.

"There won't be a next time," Naruto told his dying opponent. Keith lost a bit of his smirk. "You are finally defeated, Keith. There is no way you are walking away from this, not this time. The crimes you've committed, the people who died by your hands, have finally been revenged for. So there won't be a next time." Turning around, Naruto began to walk away, leaving the man to bleed out and die by himself. He barely got anywhere when Keith called out to him.

"I may b-be dying… But that d-d-doesn't mean any-anything. E-even after I... Even after I die, more i-innocent p-people will c-continue to die. Mi-might not be by m-my hands, but b-by my w-weapons. A-and your f-family is g-going first…" He stuttered the last part, having difficulty trying to get the words out past all of the blood.

Naruto stopped and slowly turned around. "What weapons?" He asked, knowing not to take this lightly. His opponent was smart and simple, sharp weapons were something too straightforward for him. Knowing him, he probably tweaked a dagger or added something to them. They could even be covered in an acid. Going back to stories he heard about this man, take everything seriously and never let down your guard down.

The smirk came back and Keith looked Naruto straight in the eye. "A-and why w-would I tell you?" He asked. He took a shallow breath through his mouth.

Growing tense, Naruto stalked over to the dying man and got down on one knee. He reached out and roughly grabbed Keith by the neck and pulled him forward until they were mere inches apart. His eyes narrowed and he growled out, "What weapons?"

But Keith continued to smile and slowly closed his eyes. "W-what are you going to… to do… Kill me?" A throaty laugh sounded before it was covered up as he choked on blood. Coming out in a raspy voice when he managed to calm down and talk, he said, "I'm as g-good as d-dead."

Naruto slightly tightened his hold on his neck. "There's ways to get the information out of you." He said, his voice growing a little dangerous. "Tell me now, Keith."

"Why?"

"Because I said so! You've already lost, for what reason do you want to keep this information to yourself?"

Keith opened his eyes at this. His eyes narrowed slightly and he lost all joking matters and his smirk. He opened his mouth and more blood seeped out but he ignored it. He looked the blonde straight in the eyes and without blinking, he said, "I want to see you s-suffer. T-to watch your l-loved ones d-die around you. T-that's why I-I won't t-tell you…"

Naruto felt goose bumps form on his arms but he didn't let any emotions show. "What do you mean?" He asked. He had a pretty good idea what his opponent was talking about, but he wanted to ask just in case.

At his statement, Keith let out one last smirk. "Y-you will understand… all in due time." As soon as he finished speaking, his body gave one last shudder before going limp. His eyes lost its shine, the sign of life, and his gaze slackens and goes distant. His chest no longer rose or fell but simply stayed still.

Disgusted, Naruto tossed the lifeless body to the ground and got to his feet. He wouldn't admit it, but what Keith had just been talking about scared him a little. His family was going first and it was going to be by some type of weapon he created. But, what kind of weapon and what were its secrets behind it? He turned around and kicked off of the ground. He needed to find Sana. Just in case and to be sure.

XxxxX

**Sana's POV**

As soon as the group got close enough, Sana quickly formed hand signs before shouting out, **"Taiyo Kirisame!"** (Solar Drizzle) Almost immediately, the sun in the sky gave a flare of heat before gum ball sized fire balls shot down from the heavens. Just like snow falling in winter time, the fire balls drizzled from the sky at a speed like no other. They shot down and targeted the group of boys.

Being light on their toes, most of the guys dodged the attack and began their own assault on the ninja. A few of the guys weren't as lucky and got burned from the jutsu. Golf ball shaped welts formed on their skin wherever the fire balls landed.

As the jutsu began to end, Sana engaged some of the guys head on. She had a kunai in her hand and swiped at one guy while a different came at her from the side. Just like in practice, Sana's kunai got blocked at the same time as she ducked the attack. Being crouched down she kicked her leg out and gave a full sweep of a turn, knocking two guys on their butts. Before they had time to actually fall, Sana rose to a standing position and grabbed a paper bomb attacked to a kunai and threw it to the ground as well as jumping high of into the air.

The explosion was small but had enough force to cause Sana to stagger in the air. She quickly caught balance as gravity began to bring her down.

"I'm going to make sure that when this is all over," A guy met her on the ground and swung his ax at her mid-section, "You're still left alive. That way, you'll become our pet and we can do whatever we want to you!"

Sana dodged the blow by back flipping out of the way. As soon as she did, she had to dodge from the leader of the guys throwing a chakra-fill fist down at her. She blocked to the side and held her hand out to catch herself just as the fist made contact with the hard earth and left a huge crater in it.

Scrunching her face up, Sana looked at the ax wielder and said, "No thank you, Aki." Even after a few years of not seeing them, she still remembered her names. Was she good or was she good?

The ax wielder, newly named Aki, frowned and threw his ax at her with incredible speed. "It wasn't an option girl!"

Sana moved to the side to escape the wrath of the weapon. She knew from past experience just how sharp the axes he wielded were. She had a few hidden scars to prove the fact.

As soon as she moved out of the way, she felt a tiny pin prick on her right arm. Whipping her head to the side, she saw a dart sticking out of her. Plucking it out and throwing it to the side, she glanced up and saw three more of them headed for her. Dropping to the dusty floor, Sana laid on her stomach and formed a different jutsu. Whispering out the words, she spoke with speed, **"Fire Style, Fire Paw Jutsu!"**

A couple of inches in front of her formed wolf like paw prints that burned into the earth. Almost like an imaginary wolf leaving prints in the dirt, the prints became to 'run' towards the dart user. Flames appeared in the path and sizzled and left the paw prints embedded into the ground. Sana didn't stay to watch the prints stalking its victim as she had to roll away just as a paper bomb was thrown at her. She missed her jutsu fail as the dart user, named Milion, managed to use some kind of water to extinguish her fire.

Rolling away from where she was originally, she wasn't fast enough. The force from the bomb sent her flying backwards and she crashed into a building. Luckily, the building was a strong structure and didn't topple on her like most of the others either she or her opponents encounter. Feeling a little bruised all over, Sana jumped to her feet, having no time to gather her bearings. The guys were on her again.

Multiple weapons were thrown at her and she barely had time to dodge any of them. As she made it safely to the side, she fell into a trap a guy named Suruza was a pro at. As soon as she stepped into invisible barriers, metal poles sprang from the ground all around her, forming a cage. Feeling slightly flustered, Sana tried to escape from the prison but didn't have time as the pole snapped into place leaving no openings to get out. Feeling like a trapped animal, she tried to kick at the poles, punch them and even tried to slice them with a kunai to get free, but nothing worked. She was defiantly trapped.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath just as the group of ten surrounded her cage.

"That didn't take as long as we had planned," Chi, the leader, said as he walked forward. There were hardly any tears in his dark clothing and he was hardly breathing heavily. Barely panting. And when Sana glanced around, it turned out barely any of them were breathing hard.

The guy with the spiked blue hair with a scar running across his face had his arms crossed at his chest with a bored look on his face. "Of course it didn't. My traps are one of a kind." The 'trapping pro' just watched Sana, wondering if she would be able to get out of this trap.

"So, now what?" Sana huffed out. She had barely any room to move in her cage so she stayed in the middle of it. She crossed her arms at her crest glared dagger at Chi.

A different guy. Al who wore tight clothing that was on the darker sides of a gray, stood on Chi's left side. His gaze was on Sana and he slowly moved his gaze up and down, lingering on Sana's body a little too long for her comfort. She had shivers run along her spine from the look he was giving her.

"Yes," Al said, "What should we do now?"

Sana had to bite back a shudder as well. She wanted ever so badly to find a hole and bury herself in it. She knew Al and what he was capable of and knew exactly what kind of person he was. From her time with them, she knew he didn't know what personal space or boundaries were. She could almost feel his hand caressing her upper thigh, just like last time. She suppressed another shiver and tightened her arms.

"I say we should torture her a little bit," A guy with amazingly bright red hair muttered in a bitter tone. Sana turned to him and bit back a smirk. When she managed to escape from them, the guy in front of her, Red, had been guarding her. Let's just say she left behind a dear present that left him blind in one eye.

Chi nodded, "We should but not right now." He looked to his men and then to the battle still raging in the village. "You know how that brother of hers is. If we tried to touch her, he would be here in half a second and we would all be dead. You remember what he did to Agujero. He took him out like he was nothing when he tried to kill the prince's child."

Everyone nodded their head with a grimace. Their last mission that failed, they had lost half of their group. They thought killing the Land of Tea's prince's child and mother would be easy, but after having dealt with ninja from the Sand, they quickly thought differently. They had no idea what they were up against, even after having kidnapped Sana and tried to use her as ransom to trade her for the baby.

"And he'll do it to all of you when he finds me," Sana stated.

Al took a step closer to the cage and lowered his voice, "And who says he's going to find you?"

Sana fought the urge to step back. She wouldn't say it out loud, but he did have a point. All of those years ago on the mission when she was kidnapped during the night, she tried to send coordinates to Naruto through her necklace but it was all blocked. Apparently a guy named Cameron (who was standing off to the side keeping track of the battle still going on around them) had the jutsu to hide not only his presence from anybody but everyone else's as well. That was how they had snuck up on her and Naruto that night and got away with it as well as how Naruto couldn't come after Sana. He wasn't able to find her or even track her down. He had told her when she came back that it was like she had completely disappeared from the face of the planet.

"We should get moving," The darts guy, Milion, said. "The longer we stay the more that blonde man will find out. And I don't know about you, but I would rather live another day or two."

Chi nodded his head, "He has a point." He glanced around his men again and looked over to Sana. He grinned at her, having thoughts of what he was going to be doing tonight, and then looked at the prison Suruza created. "We need to get moving but we can't with the cage; it's too big." He looked at his trap maker and asked, "Do you think you could create something smaller, something easier to transport?"

Almost looking offended but not saying anything, Suruza nodded his head. "Give me three minutes and I'll get something made and her transferred without any hassle."

"We don't have three minutes," A deep voice said. Lizorgu. He was tense and when everyone turned to him, they realized why.

"Move!" Zay shouted, finally speaking up.

Only a couple of the group members were lucky, dodging the blast. The others, not so much. An explosion took place right next to the cage and luckily from Sana, the cage fell apart. As she stood up from where she had fallen, she eyes widened as she saw blue electricity in the shape of a chakra ball in the middle of the crater it had formed when slammed on to the ground. And standing in the middle of the crater with a dead Suruza on the ground was Naruto's best friend, Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced up from the dead form just as his Chidori dispersed and made eye contact with Sana for maybe a second. He nodded his head in greeting to her before he disappeared from spot. Sana didn't have time to see where he went or to even thank him as her battle continued on. She would thank him later. But right now, she had nine guys who were about to be dead.

**XxxxX**

**Until next time!**

**I'm gonna stop it here right now. Don't worry, there's still more battle scenes. I'm still gonna be adding a lot in it. Like another flash back of when Sana and Naruto discover a jutsu together and all of that fun stuff. I do have a question though. How confused are you with the background of the group of guys? I know I'm leaving a lot out but I wanna see what you understand so far about what happened between the guys and Sana. **

**Thank you for reading!**


	28. Siblings Fighting Alongside

'_Thinking'  
'__**Kyuubi_talking'  
**_"Talking"  
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well. **

**Chapter 28**

**Naruto's POV**

"Have you seen Sana?" Naruto asked through his radio set he acquired from a Leaf Ninja who hadn't been paying attention. He was radio wired to the ANBU captain which was the only reason why he took it, and knew whatever the captain was seeing he could trust. So far, Naruto wasn't having any luck finding his sister and it was making him aggravated. Ever since Keith gave his warning he was on his toes, and that was almost an hour ago.

"_Was it really necessary to steal someone's radio set?" _And annoyed voice sounded on the other end. Naruto barely cracked a smile but it was still there.

"I didn't steal, I acquired it." He told the captain. "And anyways, the shinobi wasn't even paying attention to his radio let alone using it. I needed it more than he did."

Sasuke sighed on the other end but radioed back, _"Stealing, acquiring, same different, dobe. But to answer your question, yes, I've seen her." _He was quiet for maybe a minute as Naruto deflected a kunai headed straight for him. He paused on a roof top and went in a hand to hand combat with the person. By the time Sasuke came back on, Naruto had already defeated the intruder and was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. _"I'm fighting alongside her right now near the West side. She was caged and had ten guys surrounding her." _

Naruto narrowed his eyes. The number his old comrade said brought back a pained memory. A group of ten ninja that just so happened to have trapped his sister… "You said ten, right?" Maybe they were a different group but just to be sure, he asked, "Does one of them have blue hair and is wearing an eye patch?"

There was no answer at first and Naruto waited in an impatient silence. He had changed his direction as soon as Sasuke said where he was at and was moving as fast as he could to the area. If they were the guys Naruto was thinking of, things were about to get interesting.

About two minutes after Naruto had asked his question, Sasuke came back on and said, _"He was the one I killed, yeah. Know them?"_

Naruto swore under his breath and responded back, "Yeah I knew them. Sana and I were on a mission together to escort a women and her unborn child from the Land of Birds to the Land of Tea. The child was a prince's kid so it had to be protected. The group you're fighting right now had more people but they attacked us and kidnapped Sana. I don't exactly know what happened when she was kidnapped, but I do know it was bad.

"Anyways, when she was kidnapped, I tried to go after her but her trail seemed to have disappeared and there was no way of tracking her, even with Kyuubi out. And as nature loves to put me in tight spots, the women went into early labor due to all of the stress. I had to get her to the Land of Tea as quick as I could at the same time as leaving Sana. And those stupid idiots tried to use Sana as ransom. They wanted to trade her for the child so that they could kill it."

The blonde suddenly felt a familiar chakra signature hit him and barely let out a sigh of relief. He could feel his sister's chakra again.

"_What happened exactly?" _Sasuke's voice came back. If it were anyone other than Naruto, they wouldn't have been able to detect the curiosity in his voice.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders regardless if he could be seen or not. "I managed to escort the woman safely to her destination without Sana. But as soon as I arrived there, I was going to go out and search for her when she sent a message to me that she was on her way here and the guys were chasing her. We made a plan and managed to ambush them and ended in a fight. A lot of their men died and the ones left were sent to prison on many different charges. Sana never really mentioned what happened while she was there but I knew it was something horrible to not mention."

"_That's why you wanted to know who they were." _Sasuke said in more of a comment than a question. The radio was left on for a second and through it Naruto could hear the battle on his side raging. Crashes and explosions sounded as well as screams and yells.

Almost like he was there, fighting alongside his friend, a life-like explosion took place not too far from where Naruto was. From the force of the wind, Naruto staggered and landed on a nearby building. Pausing his path to get to his sister, he glanced around, wondering what had just exploded that was so close to him it affected him. His eyes caught sight of the remains of a big, familiar building that was completely destroyed with black smoke coming off of it. If Naruto wasn't in a hurry to get to his sister, he would have enjoyed the fact that someone actually blew up the Elder's building. Hopefully, the two old hags were in there when it blew up. That and Keo. Save him the trouble of dealing with those three.

"That and something else." Naruto said, resuming his path. He ignored what he just saw, not giving a damn if the Elder's were in danger or not. For all he cared, they could suck his balls.

Without the radio, Naruto could already hear the same screams he heard coming closer. "I'll tell you when I get over there." He clicked the radio off and squared his shoulders. Chakra already began to form in his hands the closer he got to the site.

XxxxX

**Sana's POV**

Blood slowly seeped from the puncture wound on her leg where Milion had stabbed her with his knife in close combat. Sana barely had time to register the wound as she slashed away at her opponent with her kunai. Ever since the Leaf ninja, Sasuke, had joined her in the fight, the odds became a little even. It was almost like fighting alongside a very quiet Naruto, minus Kyuubi and the tag teaming. She didn't mind, it was just different. But she was glad to fight along with a strong ninja who Naruto used to fight alongside and trusted. Almost like an honor.

"You're going down," Milion commented as his moves got faster than what it was before. He shot his arm out that held the dagger and began to slash away. Sana had no time to speak as she began dodging the fast assaults. To regular people's eyes, the two opponents were nothing more than a blur fighting but to ninja eyes, they could see every attack and every dodge going.

Almost going on a full minute of dodging, Sana suddenly forced her foot to the ground and making sure she was stable, spun around with her leg out. As soon as she did so, Milion automatically had to switch to defense mode to block the fists coming at him. With the tables turned, Sana began her own series of physical attacks. She threw punches, kicks and the occasional kunai at her opponent.

The more time that went by, Sana began to notice her opponent began to weaken. She took this as an advantage and quickly formed hand signs before activating her jutsu, **"Taiy**_**ō no ringu, -hi no wa!"**__ (Solar Ring, Ring of Fire). Before Milion had time to deflect the attack or get out of the way, the jutsu was already in play. Almost like a solar beam striking the earth, a ray of sun light trapped Milion in its beam, reminding Sana of an angel having light surround it. But instead of an angel being praised, the beam of light surrounding Milion transformed into rings and he was in the middle of the rings. Fire erupted around the rings and they spun in a fast and dizzying way. In less than three seconds since the rings were formed, they changed color from a bright red and orange color to more of a bright golden color. But the color didn't last as the rings shrunk and tightened around its victim. As soon as they touched Milion, fire licked all around him and spread as if he had gasoline of him. And soon enough, he was consumed in the jutsu and burned. He didn't have any time to let of a cry of help before he was silenced forever and fell to the ground in a burnt crisp. _

_Those around that noticed their comrade die, jumped back in surprise. _

_"__When did you get this strong?" One asked. Red. He glanced from his dead team mate to Sana, anger replacing his surprise. "It doesn't matter now; you're going to pay for that!" _

_Sana just started to bring her hands up to defend herself from Red when out of nowhere, a shadow fell upon the two. Before Sana could even blink, a figure from the sky fell upon Red with an attack. Everything happened so fast that when Sana did blink, it was over. Red was on the floor bleeding heavily in the shoulder where a chakra pole about the length of two yard sticks put together was slowly starting to dissolve. Red was trying to get to his feet as he clutched his injured shoulder but he didn't get very far before a sphere about the size of a golf ball was shoved roughly against the back of his neck. The sphere, the color of a blood red, black and orange colored chakra, seemed to sink into his skin and for a second, nothing happened. Then, as Red's body started to collapse to the ground, something on his insides happened like he a person as on the insides pushing to get free, and without any kind of warning, his body was suddenly the center of a mini explosion. Instead of the explosion going outwards like they normally did, it seemed to be stay in one area and stayed on inside of the body. Blood squirted out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. _

_And the person who caused all of this was calmly walking over to where Sana was standing with a look that could kill. Sana let out a sigh of relief at the same time feeling a little sorry for the death Red just witnessed. She had only seen that jutsu performed on the people her brother hated with a passion. Blowing up from the insides was not something she ever wished to partake in._

_"__You should have called," Naruto scowled his little sister when he was close enough. "Especially since these goons are here." He gestured to the eight people left that were currently fighting Sasuke. _

_Sana frowned and crossed her arms at her chest. She huffed and said, "I was a little busy so excuse me for not telling you sooner." Her face softened when she noticed the hint of concern and something else in his eyes. Scared? Edgy? "But you're here now, that's all that matters." _

_"__Can I get a little help over here?" Sasuke's voice was suddenly right next to the two, having just body flickered from where he was just fighting to where he was now standing. He had a small cut on his cheek but otherwise, he looked unharmed. His eyes were a little hard and tired having been battling for a little over seventeen hours, and his jaw was set in a frown. _

_Naruto glanced away from his sister and after losing his frown, smiled at his best friend. "You didn't look like you needed help." _

_Sasuke scoffed and brought his sword out for the first time since being in the clearing. "I would respond to that, but that would require in getting into an argument that would bring down my IQ."_

_Instead of getting insulted like he used to when he was a kid, Naruto just rolled his eyes. He rolled his shoulders back and walked up to his friend. Laying a hand down on his shoulder, he gripped him and said without having to look at him, "Just like old times then?"_

_Sasuke smirked and barely gave a nod of his head. At the same time, the two best friends vanished from spot and when Sana blinked, they both were back in the middle of fighting the ones what were still left. For a moment, all Sana could do was smile. Seeing her brother fight among side a friend like old times was not something she had ever seen him do. It was different when Naruto fought alongside Gaara and the other sand shinobi or when they were out on a mission with people Naruto had meet many years back. Now, as she watched closely, Naruto was a little more at ease. He was only this relaxed (as relaxed as you could get during a war) when he was with Gaara. But now…_

_Breaking her train of thought, her next opponent was on her. Al, the one who she hated the most for many different reasons, threw a punch straight for her face. Only years of training with Naruto did her sharp reflexes kicked in. She leaned back to avoid the attack and as soon as she did, she lifted her right leg straight out in front of her, managing to kick Al straight in the chin. But, having about as much training as she did, Al managed to avoid the kick minus a small cut. _

_Leaning a little further down, Sana brought her arms down and flipped away. After turning herself around, she didn't waste any time running at her opponent with a shuriken already opened and ready for use. She met him about half way, Al having already composed himself and was running at her with a sword in her hand, and the two locked with their weapons against one another. It was now against who was stronger. As of now, they were in a compromise of strength. _

_Al pushed a little with his weapon and stated, "Do you know what I am going to do to you when we e-capture you?" Sana gritted her teeth and sweat started to form at her hairline. Before she could say anything, Al continued, "I'm going to throw you onto the ground after a good beating and have you stripped of your clothing. But this time, unlike last time, you won't have that virginity left. Unlike last time, no one is going to stop me from doing anything. You will be mine to do whatever I want. Do you understand that?"_

_Images of the cold floor underneath her bare skin resurfaced from a far corner in her mind. Sana could help the whimper that escaped from her and she mentally slapped herself for letting it escape. She tried to look away from the look of lust that entered Al's eyes and the look of satisfaction he gave her. And when Al pushed a little more against her, she almost gave in. But, she didn't. She wasn't going to be a helpless girl and she certainly was not going to let herself be raped by this piece of shit. _

_Feeling determination enter her, Sana faced her opponent again and pushed against him with everything she had. A look of surprised crossed his face by her sudden new look and he staggered against her strength. _

_"__I am __not__," Sana said through gritted teeth, "going to let that happen. You are __not __going to touch me and you are certainly __not __going to do 'whatever' you want with me. Do you know why?" She gave a big pushed and managed to make him release his hold on against her and knocked him to the ground. She towered over him and gave him the look only a pissed off female could give. "I'll tell you why. It is because I am going to kill you before you are able to do any of that. Do you understand?" _

Al barely had time to scramble away before Sana threw her shuriken at him. It hit the ground three inches from where Al had just been and he managed to grab ahold of his sword just as Sana was upon him again, this time with a kunai. The two were engaged in battle once again but the only different this time versus the last, was in the few minutes that they had been fighting, Al was now feeling a little scared for him life. The anger that radiated off of his opponent was more than he had ever faced and he had fought against many angry opponents before. If he lived through this, he was going to need to stop angering so many people. Or, well, girls at least.

Sana glared daggers at him before she began her attacks on him.

XxxxX

**Naruto's POV **

Fighting alongside his best friend again where it was just the two of them brought back many old memories. Naruto smiled as he punched a guy, his name Zay from what he remembered, in the gut and then had to dodge an ax headed for his head, all at the same time. He jumped into the air and back flipped to where he was now standing behind the man who threw the ax.

He landed lightly behind the guy, Aki, and threw out his arm for a punch. Aki, who felt someone behind him, turned around with another ax in hand and meet Naruto's fist with his weapon. Barely having time to pull his fist back, Naruto moved it before the sharp weapon could slice his skin. But because of his late reaction, Aki smirked and used his ax, bringing it down against the blonde's chest, slicing a deep gash in him.

"Gah!" Naruto moved back, his hand clenching his newly wound. Warm liquid gushed out of him and instantly covered his hand, going between his fingers and then down his arm.

Aki ran at him, smirking the whole way. He had brought out another ax and began swinging his weapons at the injured blonde, one right after the other. "Don't worry, it's gonna get worse," He said.

As he continued to dodge, Naruto briefly glanced around the battle field. Sasuke still had the majority of the enemies on him but he kept his own. To be honest, Naruto was surprised he was only fighting one person. Then again, he understood why. The guys knew just how powerful he could get, but, then again, they didn't know who they were up against now that they were fighting Sasuke. And from the looks of it, Sasuke was only toying with them now. Taking his gaze off of Sasuke, he sought out Sana and had to bite back a smile. His little sister had just defeated her opponent, but instead of killing him, she did a number on him. From the looks at his crumpled and mess up body, Al wasn't going to be walking again anymore. Both of his legs stuck out at awkward angles and no matter how much healing was involved, bones that were broken like that were not going to heal normal again.

"Naruto!"

Tearing his attention away from his sister, Naruto looked over at his friend who was watching him. With his hand held out like how it was, Naruto's eyes widened in understanding and he nodded. Sasuke, having seen the blonde nod, began his jutsu.

Looking for Sana once more, Naruto managed to break away from dodging Aki and yelled over to Sana, "Sana, when I say now, jump into the air!" His sister looked like she was about to ask questions, but instead, just nodded her head. Naruto turned back to face Sasuke who caught his eye and nodded. "Now!" Together, the two siblings pushed off of the ground as hard as they could and used chakra to stay suspended in the air.

As soon as their feet were off of the ground, Sasuke started his jutsu. With his hand outstretched, he gathered the chakra and molded it into one of his favorite techniques. Soon enough, lighting formed in the palm of his hand and began to form tentacle like waves all around. He whispered the words, "**Chidori Nagashi, Thousand Birds Current."** The tentacles of lightening shot in every direction right when he finished speaking and shot at his opponents. Those that tried to block were thrown backwards from the force and those that ducked in cover or tried to flee were shot down. One of the guys, J who had been quiet during the whole battle, was one of the unlucky ones and had a full force of lighting attack him. He went down and was dead before he even touched the ground. Lighting surged around him and glowed against his lifeless eyes.

"The hell is this?" Li-La yelped, having been hit in the arm by the jutsu. He narrowed his eyes at Sasuke who was surrounded by the lightening. The currents seemed to be full of life, flickering all around while Sasuke remained still. Then, without warning, Sasuke slowly brought up his hand that still held his sword. Immediately, the lightening surged to his sword and surrounded the blade. Not giving any warning, Sasuke shot forward and engaged into a fight against Li-La.

Seeing his chance, Naruto looked over to Sana and grinned. "Time for the Rotation of Windolar."

Sana giggled but nodded her head. Time for a brother and sister jutsu!

_Flashback! _

"_So Naruto, when are we going to make our own jutsu together?" _

_Pausing with a fork full of noodles that were halfway to his mouth, Naruto closed his mouth and glanced over at his sister who was playing with her bowl of freshly cut strawberries. She glanced up when she felt eyes on her and gave him a little pout. _

"_Yeah, Naruto, when are you two going to create a jutsu together?" Temari asked. She placed her cup of tea down on the table and kept her hands around them, thankful for the warmth it provided. On the outside of their small cabin, a snow storm raged, chilling the insides of the cabin despite the fact that a fire was still blaring. The warmth from her mug felt amazing and relaxing and warmed her fingers._

_Naruto glanced between the two females. The three of them were on a mission together in the mountains to watch out for any suspicious activity since only a few months ago bandits thought it would be a great place to hide out and get away with breaking the laws. They were soon discovered and now there was a patrol in the middle to keep an eye and it just so happened that these three got stuck with it. Because it was a boring job and not a lot happened, Sana had been going crazy with boredom. They had only been here a day and the mission lasted three. _

"_We have time to start thinking of one," Sana added, trying to bait him in. Her voice, light and innocent sounding had Naruto turn his head in her direction. Her head was back down as she playing around with her fruit. The guilt trip. Quickly, he turned his head away before she looked up and gave the puppy dog eyes._

_Picking her mug back up, Temari held the cup close to her lips and muttered, "And there is nothing for us to do. So you might as well."_

_Naruto placed his fork down and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Alright, fine," he said and ignored the way Sana's face lit up and the victory dance he could almost picture her doing. "But it's too late to do it today. Starting tomorrow we'll begin the process." And adding silently, "Bright and early."_

End of Flashback

After many months and sleepless nights, they created a jutsu that could either be used during the day or at night. And it just so happened, Naruto named the jutsu by using wind and solar chakra and by clashing the two together. He went many days rambling off names that would fit for what the justu did and finally decided with the name he originally intended for it. Rotation of Windolar.

"Ready for this?" Naruto asked without even glancing at his sister.

Sana nodded her head and began to gather chakra to form around her. Naruto began to do the same all the while running towards the enemies that began to rise from their fallen states. In less than two seconds, they had enough chakra around them needed for their attack. In unison, the siblings clapped their hands together. Almost like a sound wave, the chakra almost seemed to peel itself off of their users. The siblings paused in their running and watched as their chakra forms continued to run in the same position. A glow of fiery red and gold form and a light blue form ran together. The closer they got to their enemies, the faster their shape seemed to change. Instead of staying in the outlines of Naruto and Sana, the chakra transformed and shaped a sphere that floated. Like a Rasangan, the chakra inside the spheres swirled and continued to spin.

"Let's go!" Sana yelled and roughly grabbed Naruto's arm. She transported the two over to their spheres of chakra but instead of grabbing their own, grabbed the others. They continued to run with the chakra and by now, began to mix a little of their own in the sphere. The colors almost seemed to spark with the clashing of chakra but didn't explode all the while growing in size until they were at least the size of a beach ball.

A couple of meters away from the group who just began to realize they were under attack once again, the two siblings threw their chakra spheres in the guy's direction. At the same time, they yelled out, **"Rotation of Windolar!" **

An explosion the size of a house played before their eyes. Before any dirt of rubble could fill the air, the colors from the chakra took to the air and swirled with one another, making a beautiful sunset like painting.

Jumping back to avoid any knock outs, the siblings found themselves on a house many yards away. Sasuke was there as well, watching with calm eyes. But Naruto noticed him looking impressed before he quickly covered up.

"Not bad," he commented and slipped his sword back in its sheath. They waited until the air cleared and the dust to settle down before they looked at the damage.

With evening beginning to settle in, only three bodies were located at ground zero. Hardly recognizable from their burnt and bloodied corpses, the three could identify Zay, Li-La, and Camron laying there. Aki and Chi were nowhere to be seen.

"Figures…" Sana muttered and with a flick of her head, moved her bangs out of her eyes from when they slipped out of her ponytail.

Naruto laid a hand on his sister's shoulder, trying to sooth her from the disappointment of not killing the whole group in one whack. Especially for not killing Chi, the leader of the group. He was one nasty fighter considering he was a chakra user and the fact that Naruto had fought against him and ended up breaking a bone or two from the guy.

"Wonder where they went…" Sana wondered aloud. She took a step forward, tilting her head all around as she examined the battle ground. She was just beginning to jump down from the building the three of them were perched on when, from the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed some kind of weapon headed in Sana's direction. To his horror, his sister hadn't yet discovered it.

"Sana, watch out!" Naruto yelled but knew she wouldn't have time to dodge or to even get out of the way. Without a second thought, Naruto moved and suddenly appeared in the line of the weapon and took the attack full on. A sharp pain pierced his back and went deep from the force. A silent gasp escaped from his mouth and he staggered.

A look of complete shock crossed Sana's face that quickly disappeared to concern when her brother began to lose balance and began to fall forward. Throwing up her arms, she caught her brother and began to slowly lower him to the ground.

"N-Naruto?" She whispered her eyes wide and innocent looking.

Sasuke suddenly appeared beside the two and helped the teenager lower his friend on his stomach. Without so much as a word, he pulled the shuriken from the blonde's back and tossed it to the side without another care for the weapon. Without wasting any time, he turned the blonde to his back and helped him sit up, leaving a hand on the bloody wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"You alright?" He almost barked, noticing the way Naruto paled a little by the turn.

Naruto nodded once and managed to say, "Y-yeah… Hardly h-hurts." He tried to mask all pain off of his face but failed.

"We need to get you to the medic." Sasuke said and got to his feet. Keeping his hand on the wound, he used his other hand and grabbed Naruto's upper arm and hoisted him up. Sana rose as well but the trio didn't get very far before a voice stopped them.

"My my, you do know that wasn't meant for you, Naruto."

The trio stopped cold and the two older men stood up straight. Naruto took his arm back despite the pain and tensed up. He took a step in front of his sister to protect her from his eyes. He had been wondering when this creep would show his face and join the battle.

Orochimaru stood calmly a few yards away from them. He looked as though he always did, despite the fact that they were in the middle of a war; not a stand of hair was out of place on the snake creep. Not even a sweat drop from the humid air.

The sun was now completely down with the moon rising. The time was flying by no one had time to notice what time it was. A few miles away but still able to see clearly, Kyuubi was still fighting Manda and the looks of it, Kyuubi was winning. Easily, she was wearing down Manda and from the snakes sluggish movement, their fight was about to be over. The sounds of weapons clashing and screams filled the air. No one was keeping track of time except for one girl.

Feeling the moon rise, Sana felt something inside of her chill from excitement. It wasn't every day she got to use her moon chakra. And now, with Orochimaru standing not too far away from her, it was a perfect time to show him her new jutsu. And with Naruto hurt, this would be perfect.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto growled out, his eyes narrowing upon seeing the man. He took a step towards the man and bit back a grunt of pain. The shuriken had struck him right between the shoulders and upon moving around, brought the annoying pain waves.

The snake didn't even look towards the blonde as his eyes moved on and he sought out Sasuke. He watched the ANBU captain tense and slightly moved into a fighting stance. He was just beginning to open his mouth to speak but was cut off by a gust of wind. Eyes wondered over to Sana and watched in curiosity.

The wind surrounding Sana whipped by her and lifted her hair up into the wind, blowing it around. The hair tie in her hair came undone and with her hair free, whipped all around her. Naruto moved out of the way, understanding what was going on. Sasuke, noticing the blonde moving, followed him, not quite sure what was going on. Once Naruto and Sasuke were out of the danger zone, the irises in Sana's eyes glowed silver and she threw one hand up into the air, her fingers stretched out towards the moon. Without needing to watch what she was doing, she moved her hand in a small circle before curling her fingers into a fist. The wind around her picked up speed just as a silver looking color began to creep in. The moon chakra, being added in with the wind, swirled in wisps and surrounded her. Brining her arm down, Sana then pushed it out to the side. Almost like it was a command, the tornado of the moon chakra went from spinning around it's user to next to her.

"**Yakan no arubaitofīrudo: Hana funka." **(Moonlights field, flowers eruption) Sana whispered, barely moving her mouth. The moon chakra tornado suddenly dispersed into many small objects that took the shapes of many different flower pedals. They filled the battle field within a ten-yard diameter and were stilled in the air. Orochimaru watched in silence, curious about the jutsu and yet, did nothing. Sana just smirked and with a flicker of her arm, she brought her limb in a circle over her head like a lasso before throwing her index finger at her enemy. The stilled flower petals came to life before they were hurled through the air like tiny kunai's. In the seven seconds it took to form the jutsu and have it going on its way, Sana finally blinked and waited.

As if the gods were on Orochimaru's side, the jutsu never made contact with him. Instead, the storm of petals met up with a wall of fire. Ending the jutsu with all evidence gone, two people appeared on the ground not too far away from where Orochimaru stood. They both stood with their arms crossed at their chests. Many scratches covered their bodies and blood was everywhere. They both wore pissed off expressions and had their eyes set on Sana.

Naruto, upon noticing the arrivals, went to his sister's side at the same moment Sasuke decided to attack Orochimaru. There seemed to be no time wasted; as soon as Sasuke engaged into battle, Naruto and Sana ran in unison at their own intended targets.

The siblings clashed weapons with Chi and Aki. Naruto put as much force into his kunai as he and Aki matched strength. On the right of him, Sana and Chi were matched as well. Sana gritted her teeth, her eyes having gone back to normal. Drops of sweat slid down the back of her neck as she felt Chi start to gain the upper hand and push her back.

"You're going to die this time, runt." Chi growled out, his eyes locking with Sana's. His eyes narrowed.

"R-really?" Sana managed to get out. She could feel her feet losing its grip the more he pushed at her.

"Yeah. I'm not going to let you get away with killing my team. They were my brothers!"

Sana only smirked in response before she finally used her hidden strength and pushed off of Chi. As soon as his knife left hers, she threw hers at him and crossed her fingers in a new jutsu. Feeling the moon chakra come to life, she formed it before shouting out, "**Tsuki rirīsu; tentai kiba."** (Moon's Release; Celestial Fangs!)

As soon as Sana finished the jutsu, Chi brought his hands up and performed his own jutsu, knowing he would be defeated if he didn't. **"****Jigoku no hi: Zasshuken o kaihō."** (Hell's Fire: Release the Mutt!)

Both jutsu's exploded into the night's air. On Sana's side, a snow wolf that glowed silver snarled at its opponent, an over-sized canine that took the form of a Pit Bull. The canine, made of flames, growled back and stood over its user. Before waiting to get a signal of attack, the Pit Bull ran on the air and threw itself at the wolf. Together, the two began to wrestle, the other trying to gain victory of the other.

Tearing her eyes away from her jutsu, Chi was in front of her, throwing his fist up and almost managed to clip her in the jaw. Luckily, Sana back flipped away and threw a kunai directly at Chi's head. Chi jumped into the air to avoid the weapon at the same time his Pit Bull locked its jaws around the wolf's front leg. The wolf let out a silent cry of pain but didn't miss a beat as it used its free leg and stomped on the canine's head. The Pit Bull released its grip and rolled away to dodge another pounding from the wolf.

Sana glanced away from Chi to make sure her jutsu was doing alright before she turned her gaze over to her brother. Naruto was fighting with Aki and was managing his own. They were only in battle for five minutes in the least and so far, Naruto had taken the upper hand despite his injuries. He had Aki backed up to a corner, exhaustion clearly written all over his face. By the looks of it, Aki was about to give up.

"Pay attention!"

Chi's voice had snapped Sana's attention back to her own opponent but she didn't have any time to dodge the fist coming at her. Chi managed to punch Sana right in the cheek and from the force of the attack, sent her flying in the air. She collided with a wall and slumped to the ground, her vision swarming in and out.

"Ugh," She managed out and out a hand to her forehead. Her head pounded from the hit and she took a deep breath through her mouth, wishing her vision to return to normal.

"What're you still doing down there?" A voice whispered.

Sana's head snapped up, all pain forgotten. Chi had his face three inches from hers and was wearing a cocky grin. Before Sana could throw up defense, Chi smacked her again in the face, sending her flying horizontal.

Sana hit the ground and began rolling at a fast pace. Her inertia didn't slow until she hit a different building. But unlike the other one, this one crumbled on top of her and she didn't have any time to escape the rubble. Thankfully, the whole building didn't fall, but enough fell on her to cover her. Feeling weakened and sore all over, Sana made her way slowly out of the pile of rock. She looked to the sky and noticed the Pit Bull had her wolf's neck in its jaw. Before the canine clenched its jaw shut, she looked away, feeling the pain from her jutsu as it ended.

Walking calmly towards her, Chi laughed out loud and said, "See what happened to your precious wolf?" Above him, his own jutsu began to fade as well. "That's exactly what is going to happen to you."

"I don't think so!" A different voice shouted. Naruto came from above and had his arm out first, his hand clenched into a fist that was aimed for Chi.

The man dressed in all black barely avoided getting his face crushed under the fist as he dodged to the side. When he looked to where he was just standing, the blonde haired man was there, putting himself in between himself and Sana, who was slowly rising to her feet and brushing rock and dust off of her.

"If you want to kill my sister, you'll have to go through me." Naruto growled out. He began to gather chakra to his hand.

Chi glanced nervously back and forth between the siblings. He didn't want to fight against Naruto, already knowing the outcome. But, it was fight him and die with honor and flee now and probably be thrown into jail. Better go down with dignity.

Masking all emotions, Chi set his shoulders and said, "So be it. But I won't go down without a fight."

Naruto ignored his comment and called over his shoulder, "Sana, are you alright?"

Sana stepped out of the rubble and felt exhaustion finally hit her. "Y-yeah. I think so." She said. "Are -," Her question was cut short and Naruto frowned, wondering what cut her off. As he started to turn around, that was when he saw it. Across the battle field where Sasuke and Orochimaru were fighting, Sasuke was on the ground and Orochimaru had a long sword in his hand. But, instead of sticking it through Sasuke, he turned around and hurled it towards the two.

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction as he realized who it was aimed at. He began to move towards his sister, at least to push her out of the way, but realized he couldn't. Chi was there, holding Naruto back. Anger swept through the blonde and he tried to get out of the man's grip, but for some reason, he wasn't able to. It felt like something was weighing him down, like chains. Helplessly, he glanced up and realized the same thing that kept him in place was keeping Sana in place. She tried to move, but her struggles were useless.

"SANA!" Naruto yelled out.

The teenager glanced up just as the sword the snake threw hit her. Right where her heart is.

**XxxxX **

**And on that note, I'll stop right there, x3 I hope you liked it! **


	29. Her Final Goodbye

'**Thinking'**

_**'Kyuubi_talking'**_

**"Talking"**

**/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/**

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well. **

**Chapter 29**

Time seemed to stop. Whatever was holding Sana in place snapped the moment the sword entered her and she staggered backwards. Her hand went to grip the sword, to pull it out, but she wasn't able to so she held on to it. Her eyes were wide in disbelief and she could only look up at the person who threw the weapon. Orochimaru watch calmly from where he stood and didn't express any emotions.

"S-Sana!" Naruto yelled his eyes wide as well. The breath caught in his throat and his attempts to get free slackened. His sister… she just got stabbed with a sword. She just got stabbed in the frickin' heart!

"N-Naruto?" Sana's voice, full of fear and pain, broke the blonde's heart. He could feel his heart squeeze painfully and then twist as if it wanted to come out. Slowly she blinked her eyes and then turned her head before stopping on her brother. At that moment, a thin line of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

"Sana!" He helplessly cried out. His attempts to get free started up again and this time, when he yanked his arms free from Chi and whatever force was holding him back, he was released. He staggered on his feet but quickly caught his balance before he started to make his way towards his sister who was still somehow on her feet. But a voice stopped him.

"There's nothing you can do for her, Naruto; she's as good as dead.'" Orochimaru said and had the blonde stop where he was and turn his glaring eyes on him. Orochimaru seemed unfazed by the glare and remained where he was. A few yards away from him, Sasuke was getting to his feet, a little dazed but otherwise looked uninjured. He stayed where he was and glanced around the battle field. Noticing Sana still on her feet with the sword in her, Sasuke quickly glanced at his friend. Naruto was calm right now, but for how long?

Without bringing any attention to himself, the Uchiha began to slowly make his way to the young girl by moving sideways. He needed to be a little closer to sidestep over to her without drawing too much attention.

Just please, hang in there. Sasuke thought as his eyes never strayed from his own teacher and his best friend. His eyes flickered over to the girl and he held back the urge to side step right now. Just a little bit more...

In a deep, rough voice, Naruto quietly asked, practically seethed, "What. Do. You. Mean?" He felt the dying urge to run over to his sister to pull the damn sword out of her, but for some reason, he didn't move. He watched the snake glance over to the teenager and raised a hand to his face, resting his chin on his palm. After about a full minute, the whole time Sana getting paler and Naruto getting more pissed off, Orochimaru looked back over to Naruto.

"A good man of mine, someone you already had the chance of meeting in the past and once again in this battle, had made that sword for me." As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto felt his heart almost stop as he realized just who Orochimaru was talking about. "He told me that it held special properties and asked me to use it if he were to fall in battle. I knew of the grudge he had with you and at first, I was hesitant to use it. If I were to use it, then it meant giving up a strong shinobi. I wasn't prepared to do that. But alas, my decision came to use the weapon. If I cannot have her, then nobody shall."

Not wanting to ask as he feared the answer, Naruto swallowed and ended up asking anyways, "What special properties does the sword contain?" From the corner of his eye, he caught the raven moving at a slow pace. He wanted to yell at the man to hurry the hell up but fought the urge to. He had to wait for the right opportunity. As soon as Sasuke got to his sister, at that same exact moment, Naruto would charge at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smiled and closed his eyes for a brief second. "You know, I seem to not recall any of the information about the sword. In fact, I can't remember all what it's supposed to do."

"Lair!" Naruto hollered and took off from where he had been standing. Momentarily forgetting about the unsaid plan on waiting to attack, he pulled a kunai from his pouch and hurled it at Orochimaru. Instead of a single knife flying through the air, the metal suddenly shattered as if the wind that whipped by it and cut it, and the pieces of the knife suddenly started to fly towards the man as if they were mini knives themselves.

Off in the distance, Sasuke swore at the blonde's rash decision to suddenly throw himself into battle. Still having a great distance to cross to make it to the younger girl's side, he began to sprint.

Orochimaru stayed where he was despite being the target of hundreds of tiny pieces of kunai flying in his direction. He watched the battle field around him with his continuous calm expression, watching Naruto getting closer and closer to him while watching his old apprentice trying to save the girl. He waited. He waited until the exact moment Sasuke was only just a few yards away as well as Naruto before he did something.

Almost as casually as raising your hand up to itch a scratch on your head, Orochimaru brought his hand up, his palm facing the middle space of the two best friends. In just a blink of an eye, two snakes with the diameter size of thirty-four inches and the length of seven feet emerged from his palm. Both snakes ended up going in different directions, one at Naruto, deflecting the shards' of glass while the other at Sasuke.

Upon seeing the snake heading in his direction, Sasuke began to bring up a defensive position and then to counter it with an attack, but as he began to move, the snake took a different course. The snake moved its eyes away from Sasuke for a split second as it noticed its twin was getting knocked away by Naruto. It gave an inhuman grunt and changed its direction. One moment the snake was flying towards Sasuke, the next, it disappeared from the human eye and suddenly reappeared right beside an unprepared Naruto. It opened its jaw and clamped it shut around Naruto's upper thigh.

"Gah!" He cried out and dropped his guard. The kunai in his hand immediately became of use once again as Naruto dug the knife into the snakes head, gritting back pain the instance the snake released its vicious fangs from his flesh and fell to the ground lifeless.

"Naruto!" The alarm in Sasuke's voice broke through the distraction and the blonde's head flew up. Standing not two inches away from him was Orochimaru with a fighting gleam in his eyes. Almost as if in slow motion, he brought his hand up from his side and started to attack Naruto with it. A ray of sunlight caught his hand and something shimmered. Whatever weapon he was concealing in his hand was something small and most likely deadly.

Naruto managed to jump backwards but didn't have any time to relax as Orochimaru sprung forward with great speed. They began something that most people would call a dance, a fast one at that. With every time Orochimaru swung, Naruto would deflect.

There was no way to turn the tables, Naruto noticed as he continuously dodged. He was left on the defense and with the injury left from the snake bite, he was slow. He could feel the poison spread through his leg with every movement he made and with Sana still on his mind, he couldn't focus. He was to slow to dodge all of the attacks Orochimaru had planned and was sliced against the chest, leaving a long, deep gash that immediately began to bleed.

"Nnn," he gritted his teeth from the pain and his hand sought out the wound. But as soon as he tried to move his hand to stop the flow of blood, Orochimaru's hand shot out and grabbed his. He twisted it, smiling at the cry of pain given, before he forced Naruto to turn around. With his back turned, Orochimaru turned the captured arm up and received another cry of pain. Naruto struggled to get out of the state he was in but he could feel his energy getting zapped away.

From behind him, right up against his ear to where he could feel the breath hitting his ear, Orochimaru said, "What is it like, to have snake venom coursing through your system along with your strength slowly seeping away as the poison makes its way into your blood system?"

"P-poison?" Naruto stuttered as black dots appeared in his vision. From where he was, he caught sight of Sasuke running towards them, a look of pure hatred on his face. His sword was in his hand with blue electricity surrounding it.

"Yes, poison." Orochimaru agreed. Naruto wasn't facing him but he could feel him moving his head up and down. "A poison that I created a while back that will cease your heart beat for a couple of hours but will keep you alive. You will feel some burning sensations in your body but don't worry, it's quite normal. I've only had a few specimens die but that was before I perfected the recipe. So just relax and let it take its course. You'll be out before you know it. Besides, when you wake up, you won't remember a thing. Every pain, heartache, depression, you'll forget it all when you wake up. You'll be a nobody with no memories."

Eyes widening a fraction as Naruto tried to keep his eyes open, he realized what was about to go down. He tried to say something but his mouth wouldn't open. A warm feeling began to tingle through his body and its heat began to intensify. He could feel his legs start to give out and if it weren't for the enemy right behind him with his arm practically strangling his neck –whenever it had appeared there-, holding him up, he figured he'd be on the floor right about now. It was a feeling he had never exactly experienced before. He tried to call out to Kyuubi but with her being out, it was a little difficult, especially with his mind beginning to shut down.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

The blonde shifted his glance once more as he struggled to keep them from falling. Almost like a movie, as his eyes shifted to Sasuke who was still running but it was more like in slow motion. Time seemed to be moving a lot slower than normal. Naruto blinked. His breathing started to become slower and his heart rate now beating half its speed.

'_It looks like Orochimaru won this round,' _he thought, seeing no way out. He trusted Sasuke to get him out of this but for right now, with Sana dying just a few yards away… Sana… Sana!

Naruto struggled to move his eyes over to his sister. Sana was lying on her back now with the sword sticking straight up. Her hands were around the weapon but they weren't as tight anymore as she was losing her strength. Her chest was barely moving and slowly getting bigger was a red puddle around her. At the sight of her blood, Naruto felt his eyes widening a little. Something in him seemed to tighten in the pit of his stomach. A burning sensation unlike the poison began to spread through him. He had felt this feeling countless of times but for some reason it felt a little different. Unlike before, now it was painful. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the stomach repeatedly at a fast pace.

"Gaaah," Naruto managed to mutter as his eyes closed from the pain.

Orochimaru shifted behind him and moved to where Naruto was by himself.

'_**Kit, what're you doing?' **_Kyuubi's voice rang through his ears though her voice sounded faded like she was miles away and yelling. A note of frustration was evident but so was a note of panic. So she must have picked up on Sana…

Naruto didn't respond. He couldn't. The pain was intensifying to where he could only open his mouth and a yell of pain came out. From the corner of his eye when his eyes snapped opened, he caught Kyuubi arching her back and shaking her head back and forth like she had a brain freeze. Some of her chakra began to flow off of her and like a river, began to make its way over to him.

'_**Kit!' **_Kyuubi growled. _**'Stop!' **_

"Nn!" As the chakra began to take form around him, off in the distance, the sounds of hundreds of clones began to disappear and the noises of battle died down as confusion swept through the village. What happened to all of the Naruto clones? Both sides were equally confused as to what was happening.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, watching his friend start to change. He only experienced Naruto going Nine-Tails a few times and as much as he could remember, this wasn't what he remembered. The chakra coming off of Kyuubi was red but as soon as it swarmed around Naruto, taking his form, the color changed to more of a black color. Like his other changes, his skin started to peel off revealing a black type of muscle underneath. His teeth began to grow more canine and his finger nails grew and became claws. But this change was different besides the black chakra. Naruto was almost screaming and his face was twisted with pain.

From the sidelines, Orochimaru watched with silent curiosity. He had never seen nor heard of anything that was going on. He knew Naruto was about to go beast mode but from everything that he has read and researched, none of the words said anything about what was happening now. Black underneath, and not the normal kind of black with red mixed in, no this was pure the-bottom-of-the-pit black.

The wind seemed to pick up and began something of a whirlwind around Naruto. His pained cries continued to fill the air. Off in the distance, Kyuubi was backing away, her head still swaying from side to side. Her opponent laid a couple of hundred yards away on its side, barely moving.

'_**Kit, snap out of it!' **_She so much as screamed at her container but her words barely infected him.

Sasuke didn't know what to do. He glanced between his best friend and then the kyuubi and noticed the more chakra that seemed to come off of the fox, the smaller she was becoming whereas the more chakra Naruto was taking on, the louder his cries were as well as the more skin seemed to come off. Just as his body was about to be covered in the black muscle like skin/chakra, the transformation seemed to stop and so did his cries.

The battle field was quiet. A little too quiet. But as quickly as it had stopped the next step appeared. At the same time, the chakra stopped its flow and Kyuubi looked worse for wear. As for Naruto, he was almost frozen in a picture-like stance. Both of his arms were out to the side suspended in the air. His head was facing the sky with his mouth opened in a silent 'o' and his eyes were closed. His fox-like form didn't move even with the wind gently blowing.

"What is going on?" Sasuke whispered. He wanted to do something but didn't know what. Thankfully, before he could think of anything, three familiar ninja landed right next to him.

"What is going on?" Kankuro demanded, his eyes rounded as he stared at his step-brother.

Sasuke turned his eyes on the sand shinobi and his eyes narrowed. "You mean you don't know?"

Temari glanced from her step brother to her step sister, her eyes filling up with tears. "I've never seen this transformation before. Nor have I heard of it. Naruto never mentioned something like this before." She made a movement to run over to Sana's side but Gaara's hand shot out and he grabbed her shoulder. She glanced back, wanting to argue but one look at her brother's straight face made her lost for words. She turned her head back to watch the scene before them.

The stillness of the scenery lasted maybe a couple of more seconds before something changed with Naruto. His eyes suddenly snapped open and people did a double take. Instead of the usual blue specked with red colored eyes or the nine-tails fox color of just a blazing red, his eyes was a pure white. There was no pupil and no iris. His eyes were just white. Against his black skin, they stood out.

As soon as his eyes opened, Naruto closed his mouth and tilted his head back down. His head scanned the battle ground, never focusing on anything. His eyes almost seemed lifeless as they showed no emotion or anything. It wasn't until he turned his head and he caught 'sight' of Orochimaru standing now a good six yards away from him did any reaction occur. In less than a millisecond, his eyes shifted from an all-white to a royal purple. With the speed of the kyuubi, Naruto was standing in his spot to being right in front of Orochimaru with his fist raised in a punch in the blink of an eye.

Orochimaru dodged the attack easily and switched to the defense as multiple attacks were headed his way, never with any pause or hesitation. Barely breaking a sweat, Orochimaru calmly stated, "You have never experienced this kind of pain before, have you, Naruto? A pain much unlike the others, a pain of losing someone dearly to you. Words cannot describe this kind of feeling, huh? You've witnessed murder and people you knew die, but never your own kin, someone who holds this much feeling and love. It's quite a shame really."

An inhuman noise came from Naruto's throat and his mouth opened as if to say something. But nothing came out that were of words. Instead, a small sphere of chakra that began in the size of a marble that continued to grow began to grow at the back of his throat.

Orochimaru blinked and that was all it took. If he hadn't been a ninja, there was no way he would have dodged. The sphere grew to about the size of a tennis ball before it was hurled from his mouth and at the spot where Orochimaru's face would have been. An explosion about the size of a small house took place right as the chakra sphere touched the ground after the enemy disappeared. Naruto stayed where he was, unaffected by the explosion and just waited it out until the smoke cleared.

By the time the air cleared, Naruto scanned the area for his target and found him standing a good distance away watching him. Without wasting any precious time, he was off again. However, this time, instead of the chakra forming at his mouth, it formed at his outstretched palm, almost like his Rasegan.

'_**Kit!' **_Kyuubi's voice broke through. Naruto stumbled in his run but quickly caught his balance. A growl expressed from his throat and he ignored the call. He continued on his way, a look of death in his dark colored eyes glowing. The chakra in his hand began to grow.

"Naruto…" A voice so soft that shouldn't have been heard rang clearly in his ears. A voice so quiet and sad that had the chakra simply vanish from his palm.

The beast also known as Naruto stopped in mid-run and paused where he stood, halfway to Orochimaru. His head tilted to the right but didn't move. Around the battle grounds, everyone who was watching looked around, confusion making its way around. What was going on? Why did he suddenly stop?

Whatever it was that caused Naruto to stop broke as Orochimaru began to speak. "So what kind of transformation is this, Naruto? I don't believe I have ever seen or heard about any of this. Black skin along with your eye color changing. It makes me wonder if it's because of the kyuubi being out."

The beast roared and he was back on his way to attack Orochimaru with more chakra forming in his palm as if nothing had ever happened. About three fourths of the way to his destination, it happened again, but this time, everyone knew why.

"NARUTO!" A female voice screamed.

It happened instantly. One moment Naruto the beast was running in an attack mode and the next, he was stopped in the middle of the way, something happening to his form. A yell rang out of Naruto's mouth and as fast as lightening, the form Naruto was currently in vanished. His black muscle seemed to start evaporating with smoke arising from his body. Almost like a reverse transformation, the exact opposite was occurring. And apparently, that was when Orochimaru decided to make his move.

Sasuke saw it happening the moment Orochimaru smiled. At the same time, the two men moved, Sasuke bringing his sword out while Orochimaru moving his hands into an offensive position. Only a few yards away from Naruto, the two men engaged in battle. Sasuke defended his friend with everything he had, making sure nothing happened to him while Orochimaru fought with determination.

"You are going to fail at protecting him, Sasuke." He said as he dodged a swing from the sword. "One way or another, Naruto will be coming with me. He will become part of my army and there will be nothing you can do."

Sasuke grunted and his eyes narrowed. "That won't be happening, Orochimaru. Not now, not ever. There's no way in hell he will go anywhere with you. If I can't protect him, then there will be others there to stand in the way."

Orochimaru just smiled and glanced over at Naruto whose face was twisted in pain. He was on his knees, his hands gripping the sides of his head. He was almost back to normal with his normal tanned skin coming back and his blonde hair and clothing. Like before, wherever he had blood oozing out was still there.

As they fought, Sasuke began to take the battle somewhere else, hoping that they won't bump into Naruto or blow someone up. He needed a vacant space to continue this fight. They were far from over. Better far away. But how to get there?

Just as he thought of how to move the fight, the loudest of screeches reached his ears, causing him to stop his fight and cover his ears. Luckily, Orochimaru had to do the same. Together, they and everyone else –who had their ears covered as well- looked to see where the noise was coming from. Not as surprising as it should have been, everyone's eyes landed on Kyuubi. And at that exact moment, she went from being a large mass of chakra in a fox form to an explosion of chakra. Her chakra went everywhere, like glitter exploding out of a popped balloon. Waves of the chakra came and the ninja –good and the bad- had to brace themselves or suffer from being tossed around like a ragdoll in the wind.

"What the hell is going on here?" Voices began muttering around.

"I don't know, but I don't tend to stay and find out. I'm leaving this place!"

"But what about Lord Orochimaru?"

"Fuck him! He can do whatever he wants by himself!"

Many of the enemy ninja began to make their hasty retreat, not wanting to stick around anymore. The Leaf ninja did nothing to stop them as some of them backed away from the battle grounds as well, fearing something bad was about to happen. They were grateful for Naruto to help in the battle with his clones, but with the kyuubi out and the weird transformation he underwent was getting a little too much. Who knew what was about to happen.

As soon as the air cleared, Kyuubi was no longer there. All that was left was the remains of chakra in the air that was slowly disappearing.

"W-what?"

Sasuke's head whipped away from the empty space to Naruto who looked completely back to normal. He was still on his knees and holding his head, pain evident on his face but now he looked a little confused. His eyes slowly shifted up as he surveyed his surroundings. When his blue eyes found Sasuke's, they widened.

"Sasuke!"

That one word sent the Uchiha into action. His attention snapped back and he brought his arm holding his sword up just in time to deflect an attack by Orochimaru. The two immediately began their battle but this time, Sasuke began to bring the fight away from the battle ground to one with more space and less people.

The two disappeared from the field, leaving only those who mattered left. From where they were standing, they began to make their way over to Naruto.

"Naruto!"

The blonde slowly shifted his head in the direction he heard the yell. Before he could find out who said his name, many different ninja appeared around him. The sand siblings were the ones closest, but the Leaf shinobi were there as well, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade. They all had an exhausted look about them, having just been in a battle, but hidden behind that was sadness.

Temari and Kankuro knelt down next to the blonde, checking to see if he was alright.

"What happened?" Kankuro asked his step brother as he grasped an arm to help steady the man as Temari did the same. Together they hauled him to his feet.

Naruto glanced around him. He was slightly swaying on his feet and he had a sudden urge to sit down. His legs felt weak like the rest of his body and if it weren't for his siblings, he wouldn't have even made it to his feet. "What do you mean?" He asked. He moved his eyes away from his friends and family and scanned the battle ground. "Is the battle already over?" He didn't hear any of the signs of battles going on and for as far as he could see, there were no enemy ninja. "What hap-," He stopped talking as his eyes caught sight of someone laying on the ground not too far from here. His heart nearly stopped. "Sana." Her name came out barely above a whisper.

It happened all so fast. One minute Naruto was being helped up by his step siblings and the next, he was running towards his little sister. He stumbled a couple of times but kept pushing himself. Within seconds, he was by her side, having dropped to his knees and then grasping the sword still in her. He yanked it out and tossed it far away, not watching where it had landed.

"Sana," Naruto whispered and touched the girl's pale face. She was slightly cold to the touch but she was still alive. Her chest was barely moving but it was still there. "Sana, open your eyes girl, it's me; it's Naruto." He felt tears welling up in his eyes but he fought against them from spilling over.

He waited a few seconds and when she did not open her eyes, he glanced down to where her wound was. To his horror, it was still oozing blood. _'Why isn't Kyuubi healing her?' _He thought and moved his hand over the wound. He was about to press down on it when a hand appeared below his, glowing blue. He didn't have to look up to know who it was. He'd know Tsunade's chakra from anywhere.

"This wound should have killed her," the Hokage stated. "I'm surprised that she's still breathing."

Naruto ignored her as he watched his sisters still face. /Kyuubi!/ He thought, trying to get ahold of the fox. /Why isn't your chakra healing her?/ He wouldn't admit it, but he could hear the desperation in his thought voice. When the fox didn't respond right away like she normally did, Naruto sent her another thought. After a couple of more seconds and still no answer, he looked down at himself, feeling an odd nagging sensation in the back of his head. And what he saw sent a wave of panic through him. He still had all of his scratches and gashes and blood was still flowing freely out of him. Why wasn't she healing him?

Before he could voice his thoughts or cry out for Kyuubi again, a sudden thought occurred to him.

"_She's as good as dead."_

"_If I cannot have her, than nobody shall."_

"_I want to see you suffer. To watch your loved ones die around you."_

"—_Might not be by my hands, but by my weapons." _

The image of a sword flying and piercing Sana in the heart came to mind.

"_A good man of mine, someone you already had the chance of meeting in the past and once again in this battle, had made that sword for me."_

"_Special properties." _

"My chakra isn't healing her," Tsunade's voice cut through Naruto's thoughts, bringing him back to the present. A look of frustrated fear was on her bruised face as she continued to watch what she was doing.

"What?" Kankuro said. "What do you mean it's not healing her? Why isn't it healing her?"

Temari was on the ground on Tsunade's other side, watching with sharp eyes. "Maybe it's because you've used up a lot of chakra in battle?" She suggested.

Tsunade shook her head and her hands stopped glowing. "No, I always have enough chakra left to heal even if it's a little. But her wound isn't healing at all. It's like there some kind of chemical or something in her that's fighting against me."

"That's because there is," Naruto suddenly said. Everyone looked to him.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

Instead of saying anything, Naruto brought out a kunai and to everyone's curiosity, he used the knife to cut into his palm. A noise escaped from Sakura and confusion swept around the small circle. As blood began to poor out of the wound, Naruto said nothing and let everyone watch.

Nothing happened and the bleeding kept going. Kakashi frowned and asked what everyone was wondering, "What exactly are we supposed to be looking for? Nothing is happening."

Before Naruto could respond, Gaara did, a hard frown upon his face. "That's the point." Everyone except for Naruto glanced over at the Kagekaze as he explained, "Kyuubi should have already healed his wounds but hasn't. There's nothing that should be able to stop a tailed-beast from healing its container. But since this is Orochimaru we're dealing with, who knows what he came up with."

With the silence Naruto gave off, Gaara was right. Instead of saying it, Naruto said, "I was fighting with a guy that I've fought with once a couple of years ago. The first fight, he drugged me with a chakra repressor and it was the strongest I had ever seen. At the time I didn't know and when we fought again today, he mentioned something about wanting to see my family die around me with some sword he created and gave to Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru said the sword contained special properties. If only I had known…" He squeezed his eyes as it dawned on him. His sister was going to die. Kyuubi wasn't answering him along with not healing either of them so she was out of the question. And Tsunade's chakra wasn't able to heal because of the repressor that had been applied to the sword. Where Sana was hit, wasn't a wound she could easily walk away from. There was no way for her to overcome this. If it had been somewhere other than the heart…

"Fuck," he cussed out loud, surprising a few of the Leaf shinobi. "Why does everything have to happen to her? She's only fucking fifteen years old!" He squeezed his eyes shut and fisted his hands.

Off in the distance, a rumble of thunder made itself known. The sky, already having been a darker color, began to gather rain clouds. There was no sunlight present as the clouds covered the whole sky like a blanket.

"Cliché." Kankuro muttered at the oncoming storm. No one heard him or pretended not hear him.

"N-Naruto?"

Said name's eyes popped open and his eyes sought out hers. "Sana," He whispered. Sana's eyes were opened and she slowly smiled a small smile. He noticed immediately the pain on her face, in her eyes to be exact. As gently as he could, he took her hand into his and tried not to notice how weak she was or how cold she was. "Hey sweetie," He said to her and offered her a smile. "How're you feeling?" He knew it was a stupid question to ask but it was all he could think of to say to her.

Instead of answering him, Sana moved her eyes away from his and glanced around her. Familiar faces mingling with not so familiar faces were all watching her with sad eyes. She didn't say anything but a frown appeared on her face when she caught Temari's eyes. Tears were silently sliding down her face and she offered a small smile when she noticed Sana looking at her.

"Hey," she softly said.

Sana glanced away and her eyes flickered between the Sand brothers. Gaara wasn't expressing anything and Kankuro tried his hardest not to let any weakness show but he was having difficulty. After a couple of seconds, she glanced back over to her brother.

"N-Naruto… I'm c-cold." She softly said and a violent shiver wrecked through her body.

Naruto nodded his head began to shrug his overcoat off of his shoulders. It was stained with his blood and ripped in many places, but it was all he had to offer her. Being gentle, he laid it on top of her body, knowing it wasn't going to help. Nothing was going to help her get warm. He gripped her hand again and scooted as close as he could to her.

"D-did we w-win?" She asked as she gazed up at her brother.

Naruto tried for a smile that ended up being a weak grimace. "Y-yeah. We won, sweetie."

She frowned. "Y-you don't s-seem h-happy." Without any warning, her eyes squeeze shut from the pain.

Panicked, Naruto squeezed her hand as he sat there helplessly. What was he to say to that? _Of course I'm not; my sister is dying and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. _He would never say that to her, not in a million years. He could already detect the fear in her eyes and saying that would just increase it and make her panic.

Instead, he mumbled, "I am happy. The Leaf is safe and Orochimaru's nin left in fright."

"But I'm dying." Sana said. She reopened her eyes and pain was definitely there, heavier than before.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat and his heart nearly stopped. So she knew what was going on. She knew she was dying. He turned his head away and a shadow fell over his face. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "We tried to heal you, but... I… Nothing is working." The wind started to pick up a little and threw his hair around and into his face. Everyone watched the exchange between them in silence as they kept their space so they wouldn't get in the way.

"It's a-alright, Nii-sama."

The blonde haired man looked back over to his sister, a frown forming on his face. "W-wha?"

As softly as a butterfly taking off in flight, rain droplets began to pour from the sky. After a couple of seconds, they came down harder and faster. Everyone and everything was soaked in minutes. The ground, stained with blood, began to wash away to where rivers of red began to flow freely, making its way to puddle up somewhere. Lifeless bodies began to be cleaned of all dirt and blood as well as the ones still full of life. But no one was paying attention to the rain. It was nothing but a distraction, something that heightened their distress over their fallen comrade.

Sana softly smiled and through all of the blood and dirt and scratches on her face, Naruto couldn't stop the image from being burned into his mind. He could already foreshadow this; he would forever be haunted by this image of his little sister dying with a smile on her face.

"It's alright, Nii-sama." She repeated herself. She looked away from Naruto and tilted her face upwards towards the sky. The rain hit her face and she winced at first but then let herself relax. For a second, she closed her eyes and let the numbness start to creep up on her. The pain was fading into nothing, into a relief, a reprieve. She sighed in bliss. When she opened her eyes, she said, "Thank you for taking me in and giving a place where I could call home." This time, she kept the pain out of her voice and tried to toughen up so she could speak normally. The inevitable was coming and she had to let her brother know. She had to let him know how much she loved him, appreciated his strength and love he held for her.

Naruto's heart clenched and his eyes widen a fraction as he realized what she was doing. "No," He said. "No, no, no, no." His hand grips her even harder.

Sana ignored him and continued to speak, "These past two years was the happiest I have ever felt. I had a home, f-friends, a family and a brother who all loved me more then I de-deserved." The numbness was there, but it was getting harder and harder to talk. The further she talked, the heavier her tongue got and her eyes slowly slid shut for a moment. It was difficult reopening them. "When I was still with the man I was supposed to call a father, I gave up. I couldn't… I couldn't see a future for myself. I thought that was how I was going to live, what I was going to do for the rest of my life. But then you came, Naruto... You came and saved me and after being with you, I saw a future for myself. You gave me hope again…" She took a deep breath that ended up as a wheeze.

"Stop, please." Naruto begged. Tears began to stream down his face and mixed in with blood and the rain. "Stop saying all of this. Save your energy… please." He couldn't do this. Not yet. She couldn't let go just yet.

She shook her head and turned it with a sad smile on her face. Slowly, she raised her free hand and cupped Naruto's cheek. Naruto leaned into it while keeping his eyes on hers. "I'm sorry, N-Naruto. B-but I can't. I just… just wanted to let you know h-how much you meant to me…"

It was quiet between them for maybe a second, maybe a minute; Naruto couldn't tell. Time seemed to be at a standstill while his sister, his funny-nonrelated-awesome-younger-silly sister lay dying next to him. Her breathing was becoming more labored by the second and slowly, time was resuming and running out.

Sana opened her mouth and said, "I… I think they're waiting for me…" Startled, Naruto frowned. But before he could say anything, she continued, "My mom and brothers. They're waiting for me."

It took a moment, but then it dawned on Naruto what Sana was talking about. "They're waiting to escort you." He said as if to confirm it to her. He gave her a reassuring smile to which she gave a small one of her own.

Without saying anything, she broke eye contact with him and glanced back to the sky. Naruto looked up with her and found nothing but the dark sky that continued to poor rain. Instead of watching his sister, he listened as she said, "Yes. And it's time for me to go."

"But…" Naruto helplessly said. He closed his eyes.

"It's alright… Naruto… Please. For me?" Her voice was but a whisper at this point. Naruto heard nonetheless and, for a moment, he couldn't look. But he eventually opened his eyes and looked at his sister. Her eyes were now closed. Her chest was rising and falling slower and slower yet.

Naruto stared at her chest with an agonized look. "Anything," he whispered back, not even realizing his lips were moving.

"D… Don't let me hold you back anymore." For the briefest of instants, Sana's eyes reopened and she smiled brilliantly at him, the last of her strength, it seemed. Immediately after, her eyes slowly slid shut and she took her last, deep breath she'd ever take. "Nii-sama… Don't forget about those who matter to you."

The little girl on the wet and cold earth fell limp and all life was gone from her face. With sluggish reactions, Naruto wasn't able to catch her hand in time as it fell from his face and landed on her stilled chest. Naruto couldn't help but stare. A quivering hand reached out to touch her cheek, a cold piece of flesh that had him flinching back. He was a ninja, a vessel to be used in the throes of war. Here he sat as nothing more but a human who'd lost someone so precious. Just a human with feelings like any other person. He threw back his head and roared in his anguish. There was thunder in the background and the rain fell harder than before, darkening his mood. What more was there?

**XxxxX**

**Until next time! **

**And a shout out to my sister, Shinning-Dreamer, who helped write the ending and a few other parts in here. Thank you! **


	30. Casualties After War

'**Thinking'**

_**'Kyuubi_talking'**_

**"Talking"**

**/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/**

"**Jutsu's"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well. **

**Chapter 30**

"Naruto."

The voice seemed so far away that it was barely heard. Seconds ticked by and they soon became minutes.

"Naruto." The voice said again. This time, the voice seemed a little closer than before. Still, there was no response. "Naruto, it's time to let her go. You-,"

A different voice cut the first one off before it could say anything else, "Temari, let him be. There's nothing you can do for him right now. Leaving him alone is what's best." The voice was masculine and calming at the same time. Unlike the other voice, this one was very close. Not just in distance, but how familiar it sounded. Almost like the voice had grounding.

"Then what should we do?" A third, feminine voice asked, having an emotion-filled voice.

A fourth voice, having the note of authority spoke, "We leave him be until he is ready. There is no point in trying to hurry a mourning man. As of right now, we have more important matters to attend to. First off, I need a full report of the village and need to see the damage I-,"

The voices were drowned out all of a sudden until there was nothing but a buzz of voices that could not be identified. However, one voice stood out against all of the others.

'Why? Why did I let this happen? I should have been there for her. It should have been me who got hit. Not her. Me. Not _her_. Why? Why her?'

No one could hear the voice other than him. Not because they were talking, but it was just one of those voices you hear inside your head. Some people would say your subconscious. Others would say it was you talking to yourself.

Almost as if it was in replay mode, the image of her falling to the ground and a pool of blood forming around her filled his head. The way her skin ashen as she grew weaker and the puddle became bigger. Her usual bright green eyes growing dimmer. Her hand going limp and falling out of his. Her chest stopping it's rhythm of up and down. The last breath she ever took. Her eyes never opening again.

No… no don't think about this. Not now, not ever. Don't give in to the pain… Don't think about her. Not the way you'll never see her smile again or hear her contagious laugh. Never again see the concentrated look she would give when learning something new and trying to master it. See her tear up when she would find dead animals alongside the road whenever they were traveling and wanting to stop to give it a proper burial. Never again… would he see anything. Never… Again.

"—and the West side needs to be rebuilt; it seems to have some pretty big damage done to it." A shinobi of the Leaf informed the Hokage. "And I've scanned the whole premises and there is no traces left of the enemy still alive in the village. They've all seemed to be gone… Except for the one." He didn't have to say who it was but just the simple eye movement explained all that was needed.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a certain Kazekage had the Leaf shinobi by the collar of his shirt, lifting him into the air. A hostile aura surrounded him and when he spoke, venom heavily laced his words, "You should be thankful for what he did by not calling him the enemy but an ally. He didn't have to help your sorry ass but he did because he still has feelings for this village." He said, acting very out of character.

"Gaara, stop." A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the Sand shinobi's wrist still holding onto the Leaf shinobi. Everyone paused on what they did and watched the scene play out, surprised.

Gaara glanced away from the shinobi and turned to the man he called his brother. He wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly surprised to see the blonde up and even talking. His hand slacked and he released his temporary prisoner. The Leaf shinobi back away from the two, his eyes wide and he quickly glanced towards his Hokage. She gave him a slight glare and tilted her head a little to indicate he was to leave. Without hesitation, he was gone in seconds, leaving the group alone.

Before Naruto turned away, Gaara caught sight of the blonde. He didn't look away but embraced the change he saw. The way Naruto's posture slackened and how his back was slightly hunched over. The aura around him was one to not be messed with, from the dangerous vibe coming off of him to the complete opposite of sadness and a deep depression developing. In a way, it was almost like a little part of him died as well when Gaara caught sight of his eyes. What used to be beautifully blue eyes specked with red and with a light to them was now dull. That usual light that always glowed ever since he was a kid, one so full of life and energy, one that always brightened other peoples day, was no longer there. His eyes were lifeless and dead looking.

Gaara said nothing and once his hand was released, he used the same hand and laid it on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed. They locked eyes for a moment and an unsaid message passed between them. Naruto gave a slight nod and tore his gaze away before he walked over to where Temari and Kankuro stood, huddled only a few feet away from them. They watched their brother walk over and as soon as he got close enough, Temari flung her arms around Naruto's neck. Kankuro patted his back for support.

The Kazekage glanced away from his family and addressed the Hokage, "I have a favor to ask of you, Hokage, and it's one not easily asked."

Tsunade glanced away from her former shinobi and looked over to the red head. "What is it?" She asked and her ninja all watched curiously as well as the two Sand siblings. Naruto only looked off in the distance, lost in his own world.

Without breaking a sweat, Gaara calmly stated, "I wish for Sana to be buried here."

A couple of jaws dropped and it fell silent. Before anyone could break it, Naruto's head snapped up and he glared at his fellow family member. "What?"

Gaara stayed watching Tsunade. Instead of her giving her answer, Sakura spoke up and asked, "Why would you want her buried here? Not to be disrespectful, but this isn't her home. Wouldn't you want her to be buried back in the Sand where her friends and family could mourn her properly?"

"HOKAGE!"

Breaking the tense mood, three Leaf shinobi ran up to the group, their faces devastated with whatever sort of news they discovered. Before they could speak, let alone open their mouths, a different noise appeared and slightly limping towards the group was a heavily bleeding Sasuke. He was looking straight ahead with a grim expression. In his hand, his sword dripped with blood, but it was hard to tell whose it was with his whole arm bleeding as well. Blood almost seemed to cover him from head to foot.

He arrived to the group and instead of looking at his Hokage, he addressed the Kazekage with a slight bow of his head. In a thick voice, he said, "Orochimaru… Orochimaru is dead."

And not wasting one second, one of the three Leaf shinobi's that just showed up, said, "As well as both Elders."

**XxxxX**

**Until next time! **

**Sorry it's short, but at least it's something. Mostly everything will be explained next chapter, whenever I decide to get that out. **

**Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year! **


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